Greene County Archives

Dozens of Missouri counties have purchased pens for each voter on Tuesday, because of COVID worries

October 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Southwest Missouri’s Greene County is among the growing number of counties that have purchased pens for each voter in their county for Tuesday, due to COVID reasons.

Lincoln County Clerk Crystal Hall, the Missouri Association of County Clerks president, tells Missourinet that dozens of Missouri counties have purchased pens for their voters on Tuesday. The reason is so each voter has their own voting pen that no one else has touched on Tuesday.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, a former Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem, says his office has purchased 150,000 pens. Greene County, which includes Springfield, is one of the largest counties in the state.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office distributed $4.5 million this year to local election authorities, to provide funding for them to meet their jurisdiction’s individual needs. Greene and Lincoln counties used some of their funding for the pens. Other counties have used their funds for additional personal protective equipment (PPE), due to COVID.

Secretary Ashcroft and his staff have delivered about 17,000 face masks, 17,000 face shields and 500 gallons of sanitizer to clerks across the state.

The Secretary of State’s office says more than 628,000 mail-in and absentee ballots have been returned to local election authorities, as of Tuesday.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, which is Tuesday.

Missouri’s governor is opposed to statewide face mask order

July 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The city council in southwest Missouri’s Springfield is considering a resolution that asks Governor Mike Parson (R) to enact a statewide face mask order.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters on July 22, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Missouri has seen an increase of about 1,600 coronavirus cases, in the past 24 hours.

Our Springfield affiliate KSGF Radio quotes City Councilman Craig Hosmer, a former Democratic state lawmaker, as saying the order would benefit hospitals in the region.

Missourinet asked Parson about the Springfield City Council, during Wednesday’s media briefing at the Capitol in Jefferson City.

“I am not anti-mask and I’ll say that clearly again. I wear a mask from time-to-time when I feel that need is there. I am not anti-mask, what I am is anti-mandates,” Parson says.

Councilman Hosmer was first elected to the Missouri House in 1990. He served 12 years as a state representative, before leaving the Legislature in 2002. Hosmer is also a former chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party.

“I don’t think it’s the state’s place to mandate for everybody in the state of Missouri to wear a mask,” says Parson.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams also opposes a statewide mask order, telling Capitol reporters that there are 85 counties with one COVID-19 death or less.

“That’s very different than the experience unfortunately they’ve had in St. Louis County, where they’ve had more than half of our deaths,” Dr. Williams says.

He says there are about 50 counties that have had less with 30 cases.

KSGF reports Greene County saw 32 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

Dr. Williams also says COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state are trending up. DHSS announced on Thursday that Missouri now has had 37,700 confirmed cases, an increase of about 1,600 since Wednesday. That’s also up by four 4,000 from Monday.

Dr. Williams is urging young people who congregate in places like pools and lakes to wear a mask and to wash their hands frequently.

Missouri congressman: COVID-19 has been devastating for businesses and American workers (AUDIO)

April 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A southwest Missouri congressman who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee has been chosen by President Donald Trump to serve on the President’s task force on reopening the economy.

U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, represents southwest Missouri on Capitol Hill (official photo courtesy of Congressman Long’s Washington office)

U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, emphasizes that it’s a bipartisan task force.

“There’s some Democrats on there and it’s really interesting to hear them on our conference calls, bragging on the president, telling him what a good job he’s doing, and then the rest of the year they don’t have such kind things to say about him,” Long says.

Long is confident we can protect our citizens, “without crushing our economy.”

“Folks are ready to get back to work. They want to open up the stores and go out and get a haircut and get their dog groomed and go out to dinner and sit down and have a nice meal,” says Long. “And the people that work in those places are more than ready to get back to work.”

Long says COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on American businesses and workers.

Springfield health officials say there have been 93 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Springfield and Greene County, including eight deaths. 35 are active cases, and 50 have recovered.

Congressman Long tells Missourinet that three weeks ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was considering building temporary hospitals for coronavirus, in his district.

“And as of the night before last, there was a total of six COVID patients in hospital beds in the 7th (congressional) District,” Long says.

He says five of those patients are in Springfield, and one is hospitalized in Joplin. Long’s district includes Springfield, Branson, Joplin and Republic.

Long also says Springfield’s Cox Hospital completely converted an empty floor for COVID-19 patients, and that it has not been used. He praises CoxHealth’s preparation.

He also says rural hospitals have been hurting financially, because they haven’t been able to perform elective surgeries.

Long voted for the bipartisan COVID-19 legislation on Capitol Hill on Thursday, which contains $75 billion for personal protective equipment for health care employees and another $25 billion to expand testing.

Instead of flying to the nation’s capitol, he rode in a vehicle with U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, who met Congressman Long on Wednesday morning in Rolla. Smith drove the vehicle, and they arrived in Washington D.C. late Wednesday night.

State health officials say there are now 6,321 confirmed coronavirus cases in Missouri, along with 218 deaths. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced the latest statistics Thursday afternoon. The number of deaths has increased by ten, from Wednesday’s number of 208 deaths.

Click here to listen to the full five-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, which was recorded on April 22, 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.