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Columbia’s mayor says new $23 million airport terminal will put additional destinations in play

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Top political leaders in the state joined mid-Missouri business leaders for Tuesday morning’s groundbreaking ceremony for a new $23 million terminal at Columbia Regional Airport (COU).

Missouri Governor Mike Parson, UM System President Dr. Mun Choi and other dignitaries broke ground for a new Columbia Regional Airport terminal.

The airport currently provides daily flights to Dallas, Denver, Chicago and will soon be flying to Charlotte. Governor Mike Parson says the project is big for all of mid-Missouri.

“A lot of people, you know, when you’ve got to go to St. Louis (and) Kansas City those are travel days for them,” Parson says. “That’s windshield time that they lose, but if you can come here to Columbia, I think you’re going to have an opportunity. I really think they’re going to build on this and it’s just going to get better and better and you’re going to get more flights in here.”

University of Missouri System President Dr. Mun Choi, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece, Boone County Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill, and Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin also spoke at the ceremony. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt spoke via video from Washington.

President Choi says a new terminal will be big for the University of Missouri and for the entire region. Mayor Treece agrees.

“A new airport terminal is one of those generational investments that, you know, will pay big dividends. Not just in the short-run construction jobs at the end of this pandemic, but in years to come with the economic development this opportunity creates,” says Treece.

Mayor Treece says a new terminal puts further destinations in play, adding that Atlanta and Phoenix are two major hub cities Columbia would like to fly to. The mayor notes COU needs more space and more baggage carousels.

The old terminal at Columbia Regional was built in 1968 and is still being used today.

Dr. Choi notes the importance of the new terminal, with the NextGen facility being built on campus. State Reps. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, and Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, led the bipartisan effort to restore cuts to Mizzou’s NextGen Precision Health initiative.

The NextGen Precision Health Institute is expected to train the next generation of scientists who will help Missouri address future health care needs. It’s a $220 million facility.

The airport terminal’s main funding source is a hotel tax approved by Columbia voters in 2016. It’s also paid for in part with enplanements, which involves per-seat charges paid by each passenger when they purchase a ticket.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) are also providing some funding.

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Missouri’s Parson and Galloway to focus on their base in final day of gubernatorial campaign

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Missouri’s two main gubernatorial candidates have busy schedules on Monday, one day before election day.

Governor Mike Parson (R) spoke Saturday at a rally in St. Peters with former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. That’s in St. Charles County, which has been a Republican stronghold. It’s an area Republicans need to do well on Tuesday.

The governor campaigns Monday in Jefferson City, St. Joseph, Kirksville, Palmyra, Cape Girardeau and Cassville, continuing his focus on rural towns. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) will join Parson at the Cassville event, in southwest Missouri.

Ann Dorn, the widow of slain St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, will join Parson on Monday’s tour, along with former gubernatorial candidate John Brunner and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association’s Mike Deering.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nicole Galloway, the state auditor, attended two church services Sunday in St. Louis. She also met with Democrats in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, two jurisdictions that are crucial to Democratic success in statewide races.

Galloway will begin Monday in Columbia, where she will attend a literature drop launch with area Democrats. She also speaks at the Missouri Democratic Party’s election eve rally Monday evening in Kansas City. It will feature all of the party’s statewide candidates: Alissia Canady, Yinka Faleti, Rich Finneran and Vicki Englund.

Galloway continues to focus on hospital closings, noting ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014.

Parson is focusing on rural values and experience.

Polls will be open Tuesday statewide from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. The Secretary of State’s office says a combined total of 723,058 mail-in and absentee ballots have already been returned to Missouri election authorities. Most of those are absentee ballots.

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

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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:

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Lawmaker worries northern Missouri’s flooding in recent years could impact Census numbers (AUDIO)

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(This is the second part of Brian Hauswirth’s two-part series on the status of the 2020 Census in Missouri)

A state lawmaker from northwest Missouri’s Carrollton is worried that the 2020 Census may miss residents who’ve been impacted by Missouri River flooding in recent years.

State Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 13, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, represents the Missouri House on the state 2020 complete count committee. Her sprawling district stretches from near Lexington to Mendon.

“The people that have been affected by the many floods we’ve had in the last ten years have been upended and maybe in some other part of their city, their county, the state, that just simply didn’t get reached,” McGaugh says.

While she’s pleased Missouri is trending at 90 percent-plus census completion, she wants to make sure that all residents are counted.

She says residents in the Missouri River sugar tree bottoms area were displaced for about seven months. Representative McGaugh’s district has seen flooding annually in recent years.

“The (39th) district here is so large and so rural that it would be difficult for maybe one person or a team to really, really go door-to-door and find these people,” says McGaugh.

McGaugh’s district takes about two hours to get from one side to the other.

She is pleased that the U.S. Census Bureau will continue its count through the end of October. McGaugh lives in the district of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, a district with 36 counties that is larger than nine states.

“I worry about his (Congressman Graves’) area, the whole top of the state of Missouri that might get left alone and not get the money that the Census brings in for the roads and the infrastructure and the schools. I don’t want them to be forgotten,” McGaugh says.

During the 1990s, northern Missouri had three congressional districts. They were represented by then-U.S. Reps. Pat Danner, D-Smithville, Harold Volkmer, D-Hannibal, and Ike Skelton, D-Lexington. Today, northern Missouri has one district (Graves), with one or two counties being represented by U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, and Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville.

That’s because of northern Missouri’s continued drop in population numbers.

The 2020 Census aims to count every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories. The complete count committee is working to ensure an accurate count of everyone living in Missouri to secure federal funding and fair representation for Missourians during the next decade.

McGaugh praises Missouri 2020 complete count committee chair Karen Best, saying the former Branson mayor has done an excellent job. Former Mayor Best notes this year’s Census has been unprecedented, because of COVID-19.

Former Mayor Best says the committee’s goal is to submit a final report to the governor by November 30. McGaugh says she looks forward to helping with the final draft of the report to the governor.

McGaugh also emphasizes the effort has been bipartisan, saying it’s crucial that all residents in traditionally Democratic St. Louis and Kansas City are counted as well. She says it’s about ensuring that Missouri gets fair representation in the U.S. House.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, which was recorded on October 6, 2020:

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Missouri’s complete count committee aims to submit final report by November 30 (AUDIO)

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The chairperson of a committee working to ensure an accurate count of all people living in the state is pleased with Missourians’ response to the U.S. Census, which determines federal funding and congressional maps.

former Branson Mayor Karen Best chairs the Missouri 2020 Complete Count Committee (photo courtesy of the Complete Count Committee website)

Former Branson Mayor Karen Best chairs the Missouri 2020 Complete Count Committee, which is a collaboration of Missouri government, business, non-profit and community groups like the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

“Very happy to report that the last report I saw was that Missouri was trending at 99 percent completion, whether that was self-responding, whether that was group quarters responding or whether that was door-to-door response,” Best says.

The U.S. Census Bureau says group quarters are places where people live or stay in a group living arrangement. Examples include group homes, nursing homes, college housing and correctional facilities.

The 2020 Census aims to count every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories.

Former Mayor Best says this year’s Census has been unprecedented, because of COVID-19. She says safety has been the top priority.

“I feel we’ve done a really good job of overcoming that hurdle and that obstacle and making sure that we have the best count that we can have for Missouri, because it’s so important for funding and for representation both at the state level and the federal level,” says Best.

The complete count committee’s mission is to ensure an accurate count of everyone living in Missouri to secure federal funding and fair representation for Missourians during the next decade. She is hopeful that Missouri can keep its U.S. House representation in Washington, and someday re-gain the seat the state lost in 2010.

The 2010 Census essentially eliminated the district of then-U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis. Missouri currently has eight U.S. House seats.

State Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, a committee member, worries that not everyone has been counted in rural northern Missouri and in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Former Mayor Best says the committee’s goal is to submit a final report to the governor by November 30. She says there’s been a few challenges there as well, noting the committee’s liaison with Governor Mike Parson’s office has taken a job in private practice.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with former Branson Mayor Karen Best, which was recorded on October 2, 2020:

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Missouri lawmakers to discuss education supplemental budget request and COVID dollars (AUDIO)

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Missouri lawmakers will hear testimony at the Capitol this week from state education officials about how COVID dollars are being spent, and to hear supplemental budget requests.

State Rep. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 17, 2020 (photo Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Subcommittee on Appropriations-Education Chairman State Rep. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, tells Missourinet that he hasn’t called the meeting over any major concerns.

“I think with all the things going on now, at least the members that transfer from this legislative session to the next legislative session, it would be good to be caught up to date so we can hit the ground running a little bit better in January when we show up at the Capitol,” Black says.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the state Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development will testify at the hearing, which is set for Thursday morning at 10 in Jefferson City. The two departments will be presenting their budget requests, at the hearing.

“Looking at departmental requests for the (2022 fiscal year) 22 budget as well as any supplemental requests, any kind of a request they have for changes, more money, less money, in the budget,” says Black.

The northwest Missouri Republican says the committee will also hear details about how COVID dollars are being spent by educators.

“A lot of that money, people may not realize, went directly into students’ hands,” Black says. “It passed through places of higher education to go to students. Some of it of course was used in the universities, colleges around the state.”

The Missouri House Subcommittee on Appropriations-Education has seven members. The ranking Democrat is State Rep. Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, which was recorded on September 25, 2020:

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Missouri’s governor signs witness protection and St. Louis Police residency bills into law

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(Reporter Ty Albright from Missourinet Joplin affiliate KZRG contributed to this story)

Missouri’s governor says two bills he signed into law on Monday will make communities safer. The two bills were critical components of the governor’s recent special session on violent crime.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on August 24, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson (R) signed bipartisan witness protection legislation into law. The bill creates a pretrial witness protection fund where law enforcement agencies can provide resources for the security of victims, witnesses and their immediate families.

“Over the last several months, several years, we’ve seen that major crime, those homicides keep going up and up and up in the state of Missouri,” Parson tells reporters in southwest Missouri’s Carthage.

State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, sponsored the witness protection bill. It was approved by the Missouri Senate 29-0, and the House approved it by a 147-3 vote.

The Patterson bill does not include funding. Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, told lawmakers in August that if they approve the Patterson bill, Governor Parson will likely call another special session to fund the program.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, issued a statement on Monday, focusing on the funding issue. Merideth says Governor Parson “is more interested in photo-ops than doing the critical work to tackle the causes of crime.”

“Instead of actually taking action to keep communities safe, the Governor is signing a law that is completely unfunded – and as a result it will do little to reduce crime. The Governor should have ensured the program was funded during the special session,” Representative Merideth’s statement reads, in part.

Governor Parson also signed legislation into law on Monday that eliminates the residency requirement for St. Louis police officers, firefighters and EMS personnel.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden traveled to Jefferson City several times during the special session to testify for the bill, saying his department desperately needs more officers due to the surge in violence. St. Louis has had 198 homicides in 2020. The city had 194 in all of 2019. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reported Sunday that St. Louis is on pace to have 240 homicides this year, the highest in 25 years.

Governor Parson says the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is currently short by more than 140 officers, and that House Bill 46 can help fill that gap.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, sponsored the bill, which was backed by the Missouri Police Chiefs Association and the St. Louis Police Officers Association.

Bill opponents say St. Louis residents feel safer with police officers living in their neighborhoods. Opponents also note that Representative Hicks is from St. Charles County.

The Missouri Senate approved the Hicks bill on a 25-5 vote, and the House approved it 117-35. Governor Parson plans a ceremonial signing of the Hicks bill on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis.

“We have a serious problem with violent crime here in Missouri, and we have seen it escalate even more in recent months,” Governor Parson says. “HB 66 and HB 46 are valuable tools that will build on our efforts to combat violent crime, support law enforcement officers and make our communities safer.”

Kansas City has recorded 144 homicides in 2020, compared to 113 at this time last year.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Governor Parson to sign Missouri’s witness protection bill on Monday (AUDIO)

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Legislation that’s aimed at providing witness protection will be signed into law Monday afternoon by Missouri’s governor in Kansas City and Carthage.

State Rep. Dr. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on August 25, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bipartisan witness protection legislation was one of Governor Mike Parson’s (R) top priorities for the recent special session on violent crime. State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, says the bill is crucial.

“And what law enforcement has told us is the number one thing they need to prosecute criminals is witnesses that are willing to come forward and testify as to what they saw, so that they can put these criminals behind bars,” Patterson says.

The bill, which is House Bill 66, will create a pretrial witness protection services fund, which will provide security to witnesses, potential witnesses and their immediate families in criminal proceedings or investigations.

“They can use those dollars to find housing for witnesses. Do all the necessary things that you need to get witnesses out of the harmful environment that they’re in,” says Patterson.

The Missouri Senate approved Patterson’s bill 29-0, and it passed the House on a 147-3 vote.

Representative Patterson predicts the bill will help law enforcement officers solve more violent crime.

“You know we have a lot of violent crime in Kansas City unfortunately like St. Louis and I think it will be important to help fight violent crime,” Patterson says.

Kansas City has recorded 143 homicides in 2020, compared to 112 at this time last year. St. Louis has had 195 homicides this year, and the “Post-Dispatch” reported Sunday that St. Louis is on pace to have 240 homicides this year, the highest in 25 years.

As for Governor Parson, he’s praising the two bill sponsors: Representative Patterson and State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, which was recorded on September 18, 2020:

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USDA currently in “big hiring phase” in Kansas City (AUDIO)

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A top official at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the agency is making progress in relocating two major facilities to Kansas City: the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agricultural Policy.

USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, and USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Richard Fordyce spoke to reporters on August 21, 2020 at the food bank in Columbia (photo courtesy of Brownfield’s Julie Harker)

USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach tells Missourinet the agency continues to transfer employees from Washington to Kansas City, those who chose to move.

“We’re also in a big hiring phase trying to get people on board and establish that in Kansas City,” Ibach says.

USDA’s relocation is expected to bring about 550 jobs to Kansas City, with average wages between $80,000 and $100,000. Mr. Ibach says the agency has established a “beautiful office” in Kansas City.

Ibach says it’s beneficial to have USDA employees who have roots in agriculture, adding that the move to Kansas City will benefit farmers and ranchers.

“It’s really exciting to be able to have the people that are analyzing the economics of agriculture be right here in the heartland of America, where agriculture is,” says Ibach.

Under Secretary Ibach spoke to Missourinet at a recent USDA event in mid-Missouri’s Columbia, to promote a federal program that’s addressing hunger needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event took place at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, where Ibach was joined by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Richard Fordyce and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville.

The USDA relocation to Kansas City has been praised by members of Missouri’s congressional delegation in both parties, and well as by Governor Mike Parson (R) and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D).

U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, and Hartzler praise the move, saying it gets USDA closer to the farmers they serve.

Missouri’s largest general farm organization is also pleased with the relocation. Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurt says it will improve USDA’s customer service.

“You know within a day’s drive of their new headquarters (in Kansas City) will be most of the corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, I mean you think about the crops, pork, beef,” Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst said, in a 2019 interview with Missourinet.

The Kansas City area is also home to what is called the animal science corridor. The Kansas City Area Development Council says the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor is home to more than 300 animal health companies.

Click here to listen to USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach, who spoke to Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth on August 21, 2020 outside of the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia:

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In KC, U.S. Attorney General Barr touts Operation LeGend numbers (AUDIO)

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Attorney General Bill Barr traveled to Kansas City Wednesday to highlight a federal-local program to make more arrests in violent crime cases in major cities.

LISTEN TO PRESS CONFERENCE (33:53)

 

LeGend Taliferro’s mother, Charron Powell, urged the community to continue to share tips to solve violent crimes.

Six weeks ago, the Justice Department offered a partnership to the Kansas City Police Department and named it after four-old LeGend Taliferro who was killed by gunshots fired into an apartment while he slept.

Operation LeGend is now in eight other cities, including St. Louis.

Barr listed the numbers:

“Through Operation Legend, the federal government has dispatched to the nine cities more than 1,000 additional agents to work shoulder-to-shoulder with state and local law enforcement.  Here in Kansas City, for example, we have deployed more than 185 additional agents from the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Marshals.

​We saw one result of those efforts last week, when Kansas City police arrested the suspected murderer of LeGend Taliferro.  The arrest was the product of hard work by the Kansas City Police Department, supported by critical assistance from the FBI and U.S. Marshals.  This arrest will not bring LeGend back, but it again makes his case an example of how we can come together to take violent criminals off the street and make our communities more safe.”

Chief Smith at Operation LeGend press conference in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith said he welcomed the help.

“Our clearance rate is this morning, right around 60 something percent, right about the national average, maybe a little bit more. I think what we are seeing here with our assistance we are getting things done more timely. Things that would take us more time due to resources and manpower would not happen as quick,” Smith said.