Festus Archives - Missourinet

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:

Term-limited Missouri state senator urging colleagues to increase funding for MoDOT (AUDIO)

July 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The outgoing Senate Transportation Committee chairman says Missouri is not funding roads and bridges adequately.

A truck driver travels on I-70 near Mineola Hill in east-central Missouri’s Montgomery County in 2019 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Transportation)

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, is leaving the Senate in January, due to term limits. He says Missouri’s gasoline tax needs to be increased, noting the state’s 17-cent per gallon gas tax has remained the same since 1996.

“We need to do our jobs up here (Jefferson City) and that is to take care of the assets and resources that Missourians deserve and expect and the traveling public for the safety of our families, but also for economic development,” Libla says.

Libla filed Senate Bill 539 in January to raise the state’s gasoline tax from 17 to 19-cents per gallon. While the Transportation Committee approved it, the bill died on the Senate floor. Libla says that proposal would have raised $144 million annually for Missouri transportation.

While Missouri has the nation’s seventh-largest highway system with about 34,000 miles of roadway, it ranks 49th in funding. Chairman Libla says out-of-state motorists pay 40 to 50 percent of Missouri’s gasoline tax.

“When we go into their states, we have to pay what their (other states) going rate is on the fuel user tax per gallon. But they have lots of other taxes on their gasoline too, and diesel fuel,” says Libla.

For instance, he says Pennsylvania’s gasoline tax is 58-cents per gallon. Libla’s bill would also have adjusted the taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel annually for inflation.

Libla praises the job that the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is doing, including Director Patrick McKenna. He says they have a great staff, and are doing more with less.

Libla says MoDOT received about $100 million less in funding in 2019, than they received in 2010. He also notes that cities and counties receive about 30 percent of the funding, from Missouri’s gas tax.

“So it hurts our local county commissions that’s trying to keep our roads up, and our cities and our mayors, our (city) council people,” Libla says.

Libla says Senate Bill 539 would have provided cities and counties with an additional $44 million annually, for transportation.

Missouri voters rejected transportation tax increases in 2014 and again in 2018.

In addition to tight funding, MoDOT has also been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. State Rep. Becky Ruth, R-Festus, who chairs the bipartisan Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight, says the pandemic has had an impact of between $45 million and $100 million on MoDOT.

Director McKenna testified in late June that the impact is from several factors, including declines in license and registration fees and a decline in the motor vehicle sales tax. He also says the agency has delayed advertising on about $360 million in projects.

Despite the impact, MoDOT crews are still working every day. McKenna says more than 100 bridges in Missouri’s $350 million bridge bonding plan are now under contract, and 13 have already been completed. He says an additional 58 bridges are currently under construction.

In 2019, Missouri lawmakers approved the $350 million bridge bonding plan, which is repairing or replacing 250 deteriorating bridges.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, which was recorded on June 25, 2020 at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City:

MoDOT response to pandemic is praised by Missouri lawmakers (AUDIO)

July 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri lawmaker who chairs the bipartisan Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight is praising state transportation officials for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Rep. Becky Ruth, R-Festus, notes the pandemic has had an impact of between $45 million and $100 million on the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT).

State Rep. Becky Ruth, R-Festus, speaks at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on January 30, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“I know the department has been working very hard on trying to make up that shortfall and figure out how we can get through that and still get our road projects done,” Ruth says.

MoDOT’s response is also praised by State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, who chairs the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.

MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna testified recently before the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight. He testifies the impact is from several factors, including declines in license and registration fees and a decline in the motor vehicle sales tax.

During an interview with Missourinet, Director McKenna says the agency has delayed advertising on about $360 million in projects.

“We haven’t canceled those, that’s a delay,” McKenna says. “We’re just taking a cautious approach until we see the full impact of the declining revenue during mostly the April and May periods of time.”

Revenues from Missouri’s 17-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax have also been impacted by the pandemic, because of layoffs and many people working from home. Traffic volume was down by 49 percent in some parts of the state, due to COVID-19.

The pandemic has prompted seniors leaders at MoDOT to take pay cuts, and the agency has also reduced discretionary purchases for non-construction activities.

“We’ve also taken other measures to slow spending, to reduce hiring at the moment and for our entire team, participating in shared work on a reduced work week,” says McKenna.

That’s a 32-hour work week. McKenna says MoDOT placed an executive review on all new hiring in March.

Chairwoman Ruth announced at the hearing that the next meeting of the joint committee will take place during the September veto session in Jefferson City.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna, which was recorded on June 25, 2020 in Jefferson City:

Pandemic has had up to a $100 million impact on Missouri Department of Transportation

June 25, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri lawmakers heard new details on Thursday morning in Jefferson City about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT). That impact includes cuts.

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna testifies before the Missouri Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight on June 25, 2020 in Jefferson City (Brian Hauswirth photo)

MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna testified before the bipartisan Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight, which is chaired this year by State Rep. Becky Ruth, R-Festus.

Director McKenna testifies the COVID-19 pandemic has had a $45 to $100 million impact on his agency. That’s because of several factors, including declines in motor fuel tax revenues, license and registration fees and the motor vehicle sales tax.

McKenna says the agency has reduced discretionary purchases for non-construction activities, and has placed an executive review on all new hiring. That began in March.

He also testifies that MoDOT has delayed advertising on about $360 million in projects in Missouri.

McKenna will join Governor Mike Parson (R) at today’s media briefing with Capitol reporters. That will start at 3 p.m. in Jefferson City.