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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Lieutenant Gov. Mike Kehoe

Governor’s inauguration to celebrate Missouri’s rich history

December 9, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

When Gov. Mike Parson takes the oath of office next month, his inauguration will look and feel like a celebration of the state’s 57th governor making his mark on history and a celebration of Missouri officially becoming a state. That’s according to Parson’s campaign manager Steele Shippy. He tells Missourinet the Inaugural events will be historic.

“It’s also the bicentennial,” says Shippy. “So, there’s a lot of focus around celebrating the state’s rich heritage and history. There’s going to be elements of not just about the governor – it’s about celebrating our state at the same time.”

August 10, 2021, will mark the 200th anniversary of Missouri’s entry as the 24th state of the United States.

First Lady Teresa Parson and GOP ally James Harris are serving as co-chairs of the governor’s Bicentennial Inaugural Committee. About 50 of the governor’s close friends and supporters are serving on the panel.

“To kick off Missouri’s bicentennial, we will celebrate our state’s rich heritage with a historic Bicentennial Inauguration,” First Lady Teresa Parson says in a press release. “The strong bonds that tie Missourians together have endured for over 200 years and will provide the strength needed to continue moving Missouri forward.”

The inaugural events will kick off with a prayer service on January 9 in the governor’s hometown of Bolivar in southwest Missouri. The gathering will be at Southwest Baptist University at 4 p.m.

The traditional ceremony of the governor taking the oath of office will be on January 11 at 11:30 a.m. on the south lawn of the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City. Other statewide elected officials being sworn in at the ceremony include Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick.

The crowd at the ceremony can expect a 19-gun salute and a Missouri National Guard flyover has been requested.

The press release says the committee has consulted with state and local health officials and will follow their guidance to protect the attendees, participants, and staff from COVID-19. Health and security screenings will be conducted. Masks will be provided and encouraged. Social distancing measures will be taken and hand sanitizer will also be available.

The event is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to RSVP to help with social distancing efforts. More information, including how to request tickets to the events, will be announced at a future date.

Following the inauguration ceremony, the committee will release information about future inaugural events, such as the traditional inaugural ball and parade, in conjunction with Missouri’s bicentennial celebrations later in 2021.

“As we learn more about COVID-19 and how it’s progressing or regressing, that will dictate what types of events or the timing of those events,” Shippy says.

Shippy did not have information about the cost associated with these events. Parson’s Bicentennial Inaugural Committee is raising money for them through a newly-created 501c4 organization called Moving Missouri Forward. The release says benefactors and their donations will be disclosed at a later date.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Legislature, News Tagged With: Attorney General Eric Schmitt, First Lady Teresa Parson, governor mike parson, James Harris, Lieutenant Gov. Mike Kehoe, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, Steele Shippy

Virgin Hyperloop still has its eye on Missouri to transport passengers in tubes

October 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Virgin Hyperloop says West Virginia has been chosen for its futuristic tube travel test track and certification center, but Missouri is not out of the picture. Company spokesman Ryan Kelly tells Missourinet West Virginia might not necessarily be where the first route is located.

A Hyperloop model visits the Mizzou campus (Photo courtesy of Virgin Hyperloop One)

“We still plan to continue work with some of the states that we’ve been talking to including Missouri, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina and a couple more to really look at where the first projects could be once our technology is safety certified,” says Kelly. “If you think about how the interstate highway system came around when (President) Eisenhower decided to make that investment, even though it was based in Missouri, it was a national campaign. That’s where it started, but obviously not where it finished.”

St. Charles in eastern Missouri was the home of the first interstate highway project in the nation.

A Hyperloop is said to have the ability to lug passengers from Kansas City to St. Louis in about 30 minutes – a potential game changer for the way the state does business in the region. People could commute from one end of the state to the other, tying both economies together.

Kelly says the company’s top three criteria in its decision to award the projects to West Virginia had to do with land, political support and financial support. He says the company is not disclosing the incentives offered or any other financial information.

The Missouri Legislature passed and the governor signed into law this year a bill that keeps state road funds away from the project, keeps the project away from I-70’s right of way, and bans the use of eminent domain to build it. Did the new law derail plans of the test track and certification center coming to Missouri?

“I’ll counter that with Missouri was one of the first ones to actually legislate about Hyperloop in the United States as well,” says Kelly. “Speaker (Elijah) Haahr has been a huge proponent of what we were doing and have felt that support in Missouri. So, I wouldn’t point to that as a be all end all or something that we can point to that really tipped the scales, so to speak.”

Haahr, R-Springfield, formed a task force charged with creating a road map to commercialize a Hyperloop in Missouri. Lieutenant Gov. Mike Kehoe led the team.

“The vision that the state had for something like this is really commendable and exciting,” says Kelly. “We want to continue forward to talk to the state and continue to look at a path forward – for not only Missouri but for America as well.”

A study the panel compiled found that the technology could have up to $3.6 billion annually in economic impact and create up to 17,200 new jobs in Missouri. The group’s 176-page report also says the network could reduce I-70 vehicle crash injuries and fatalities up to 50%.

It estimates a full 250-mile Hyperloop track along Interstate-70 would cost about $7 to $10 billion and be mainly privately funded.

Earlier stories:

Missouri not chosen for Virgin Hyperloop test track https://www.missourinet.com/2020/10/08/missouri-not-chosen-for-virgin-hyperloop-test-track/

Missouri House Speaker, Majority Leader say Hyperloop should happen https://www.missourinet.com/2019/10/29/missouri-house-speaker-majority-leader-say-hyperloop-should-happen/

Task force: Hyperloop would fuel Missouri economy by billions, make 17k jobs https://www.missourinet.com/2019/10/28/task-force-hyperloop-would-fuel-economy-by-billions-make-17k-jobs/

Is flooding a problem for a potential Hyperloop in Missouri?  https://wp.me/p16gMv-vjP

Push for Hyperloop certification track in Missouri  https://wp.me/p16gMv-vjy

Could ‘Hyperloop’ tube travel thrive in Missouri? New group aims to find out, accelerate construction  https://wp.me/p16gMv-uQg

Missouri coalition launches study about speedy passenger tube rides  https://wp.me/p16gMv-sOP

Coalition hyped up about tubes taking you from KC to St. Louis in 31 minutes  https://wp.me/p16gMv-sfe

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Business, News, Science / Technology, Transportation Tagged With: Lieutenant Gov. Mike Kehoe, Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, Missouri legislature, Ryan Kelly, Virgin Hyperloop



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