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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Missouri social services workers develop plan to help more youth aging out of foster care system

January 1, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

Shasta Miller says a former foster child put it best: a Missouri Department of Social Services unit has helped more in four months than anyone else has in 17 years.

“I want to see more youth get the help that I received because they deserve it,’” the child said.

Missouri social services workers develop plan to help more youth aging out of foster care system

That is exactly what the Southeast Royals Unit wants to do. Miller, along with Rene’ Brinkman, Bobbie Thomas and Nicole Robinson, lead the unit helping older youth prepare for adult life.

“We have a real problem here in Missouri,” says Miller. “Our older youth are leaving our foster care system to higher rates of incarceration, lack of education, unemployment and homelessness.”

They launched the unit about six months ago in southeast Missouri. Robinson says their work has led to most of their foster kids getting a driver’s permit or license, two-thirds have opened a bank account, 63% have a job and 68% of eligible youth have enrolled in college courses.

Now, they want to take the effort statewide. They pitched the idea last month during a state government challenge that brings together workers within Missouri’s 16 executive departments – and they won.

The “Show Me Challenge” – styled after the hit TV show “Shark Tank” – is designed to better serve citizens, cut out bureaucracy, and save the state time and money. The Missouri Office of Administration says the event, which launched in January 2019, is put on twice a year. To date, more than 500 team members have pitched ideas to improve Missouri’s state government processes.

Thomas says an expansion could save Missouri in jail costs and homelessness prevention efforts.

“If we invest in our youth now, we could save up to $2 million each year,” she says. “With increased employment rates we project the state could earn $21,000 in tax revenue each year. Case managers will also benefit from additional Royals units because we would take 300 high-risk youth off of the caseloads,” says Thomas.

Their pitch would add five more units around the state and use existing staff and resources.

“Four-hundred and seven Missouri youth have aged out of foster care since October of 2019,” says Brinkman. “The current Royals unit would only have been able to serve about 1% of that population. However, if we had six Royals units across the state, we could have served 74% of those youth.”

Their winning idea has landed them $500 each, along with senior support and mentorship to translate their proposal into results.

Members from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Office of Administration won second place for their proposal using a statewide campground recycling program to increase convenience of recycling for campers, reducing waste going to landfills.

Third place went to workers from Missouri State Parks, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. They offered a plan creating a centralized website with virtual education materials to better serve educators unable to take their students to visit Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites for in-person learning.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Business, Crime / Courts, Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Bobbie Thomas, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Social Services, Missouri Office of Administration, Missouri State Parks, Nicole Robinson, Rene' Brinkman, Shasta Miller, Show Me Challenge, Southeast Royals Unit

Group wants feds to consider innovative anti-flooding projects, including in Missouri

June 10, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

A report from a special commission recommends Missouri work with neighboring states and the Army Corps of Engineers to change how flood recovery and prevention are approached. The commission also wants the federal government to be more receptive to innovative ideas.

2019 flooding in Craig (Photo courtesy of Brent Martin of KFEQ in St. Joseph)

Gov. Mike Parson created the Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group in an effort to break the cycle of Missouri River flooding which caused widespread, catastrophic damage in 1993, 2011, and 2019. The group also reviewed problem areas along the Mississippi River.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Deputy Director Dru Buntin says current practice forces farmers and others to work toward restoring levees as quickly as possible.

“For crop insurance reasons, for just basic protection reasons, and so there’s a finite window of opportunity to be able to go in and look at doing something different,” Buntin tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph.

He says Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa want that changed. They want something different. He says Missouri is working with its neighbors and the Corps of Engineers to take a longer look at the problem areas along the Missouri River which repeatedly flood and recommend changes which could prevent or lessen future flooding.

A proposed Missouri River levee project in extreme northwest Missouri could become a prototype to prevent the recurring flooding along the river – if it can clear federal regulatory hurdles. Atchison County Levee District #1 proposes a setback levee which would add as much as 200 acres of wetlands and, county officials hope, prevent the repeated flooding in that area. Buntin says federal officials have raised concerns, because the approach is so different.

“Trying to wade through many of the funding sources that would help the levee district, help Atchison County accomplish that project don’t envision this type of project,” according to Buntin.

Buntin says that’s the problem. Federal regulations often lock landowners in to repairing the same system which continues to fail during flood years. Buntin says federal requirements which must be met for wetlands easements actually stand in the way of the Atchison County project, even though the project would greatly increase wetlands in the area. Buntin remains optimistic the project will be approved, eventually.

Buntin says the commission is determined that its report does not simply sit on a shelf. He says Missouri already is working with officials in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. He says they want to speak with one voice when expressing concerns to the Army Corps of Engineers and when pushing for change.

“And I’m always reluctant to say we’re going to study this, because that’s really not what the intent of this whole arrangement is. It’s to look at where the most problematic areas (are) and what are some changes that we could make that would reduce damages in the future,” Buntin says.

The report also recommends the federal government pay the entire cost of levee restoration, whether the levees are federal or non-federal levees. It proposes Atchison County be moved out of the Omaha district of the Army Corps of Engineers and into the Kansas City district, with the rest of the northwest Missouri counties bordering the Missouri River.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

Filed Under: Agriculture, Legislature, News, Outdoors, Politics / Govt, Transportation, Weather Tagged With: Dru Buntin, governor mike parson, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri River, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

DNR: Missouri’s soil and water conservation tax has improved more than five million acres

June 6, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) credits Missouri’s soil and water conservation tax and program for reducing soil erosion, and for improving more than five million acres.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Carol Comer listens to testimony at the Joint Committee on Agriculture hearing on May 28, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

DNR agricultural liaison Kurt Boeckmann tells the Joint Committee on Agriculture that a one-tenth-of-one-percent parks, soils and water sales tax was first approved by Missouri voters 36 years ago.

“In every county in Missouri, there are 114 districts, one in each county, and those districts provide technical assistance and cost-share that is generated through that sales tax,” Boeckmann testifies recently.

Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment for a one-tenth-of-one-percent sales tax for parks, soil and water conservation in 1984. Voters have overwhelmingly renewed the tax four times, with the last one happening in 2016.

DNR credits soil and water conservation programs for helping Missouri landowners keep 186-million tons of soil from eroding into our waterways, since 1984. Mr. Boeckmann testifies the tax has been crucial.

“Most of the practices that are offered through this program are practices that are benefiting the soil loss that we have … over 255,000 contracts have been offered to landowners,” says Boeckmann.

The majority of the soil and water portion of the tax has been used to assist farmers through voluntary programs that are developed by the Soil and Water Districts Commission.

The tax has historically received bipartisan support and is backed by both Missouri Farm Bureau and the Sierra Club.

“So it’s extremely important to anybody who uses our park system, our beautiful parks system, or anybody who drinks water in the state of Missouri, because this (tax) makes a real difference in both preserving our soil and protecting our water supply,” Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst told Missourinet in 2016, just before the election.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Agriculture, History, Legislature, News, Outdoors Tagged With: erosion, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Joint Committee on Agriculture, Sierra Club, soil and water conservation tax, Soil and Water Districts Commission

Lawmakers to hear update on Missouri slaughter facilities and economic impact from COVID-19

May 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

We’ll learn more details next week about the impact of the coronavirus on local slaughter facilities in Missouri.

State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 11, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Joint Committee on Agriculture plans a Thursday morning hearing at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The committee will meet at 9 a.m.

The committee’s co-chairs are State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, and State Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla.

Haffner’s office tells Missourinet that the joint committee will hear a general overview about how production lines at slaughter facilities are influenced by COVID-19, and the responses to it. Haffner’s office says State Reps. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, and Don Rone, R-Portageville, will present the update.

Shaul and Rone plan to discuss the current economic issues that local slaughter facilities are having due to COVID-19 and how that financially impacts Missouri’s cattle industry, according to Haffner’s office.

Shaul also heads the Missouri Grocers Association.

The $35.2 billion operating budget approved by state lawmakers this month contains $20 million for Missouri meat processing facilities, impacted by COVID-19. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says it’s for plants with less than 200 employees, for support, workforce assistance, equipment and capital improvements.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture will also hear testimony on Thursday from Missouri commodity groups and agricultural organizations about their economic impact, specifically their contribution to state and local tax revenues.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) plans to present on Thursday, along with B.J. Tanksley of the Missouri Farm Bureau and Casey Wasser of the Missouri Soybean Association. Dr. Scott Brown of the University of Missouri and Tony Clayton of Clayton Agri-Marketing are also scheduled to present, along with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News Tagged With: Joint Committee on Agriculture, local slaughter facilities in Missouri, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri meat processing facilities, Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri's cattle industry, Pleasant Hill, Rolla, State Rep. Dan Shaul, State Rep. Don Rone, State Rep. Mike Haffner, State Sen. Justin Brown

(VIDEO) Top takes from today’s COVID-19 briefing in Missouri

April 20, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Gov. Mike Parson is freezing another $47 million in the current state budget to help Missouri fight the coronavirus. The largest chunks of funding being withheld are nearly $16 million to K-12 education and $7.1 million in school bus transportation costs. During today’s virtual briefing, Parson says the restrictions will be felt by seven other state agencies, the Attorney General’s Office and the Legislature.

Gov. Mike Parson (Photo courtesy of governor’s Flickr page)

“COVID-19 is unlike anything we have ever dealt with before, and like many families during this time, we are having to make adjustments and cut back on our state expenditures,” says Parson. “These are not easy decisions, but this is the right thing to do to ensure our budget is balanced and that we are financially prepared to deal with the impacts of COVID-19 going forward.”

To view the full list of funding restrictions, click here.

On April 1, Parson announced $180 million in budget withholds – more than $81 million was to the Missouri Department of Higher Education. Other agencies affected were the Missouri Office of Administration, Transportation, Economic Development and Natural Resources.

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten (Photo courtesy of governor’s Flickr page)

Meanwhile, a vendor has given a refund to the state for an order of protective masks that did not fit correctly. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Missouri paid $9 million in advance to NMS LLC of St. Louis to secure 3.9 million masks. Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten says discussions determined that the vendor remains committed to helping Missouri get more protective equipment to fight the coronavirus.

“During those talks, it became clear the vendor was no opposed to and never was opposed to refunding the state the deposit paid for the order,” says Karsten.

Karsten says the agreement resolves all refund issues with vendors used to get personal protective gear. She says the state will no longer be buying KN95 respirator masks.

More than 5,800 people have tested positive in Missouri for the coronavirus and 177 people have died as a result of the respiratory disease.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Business, Education, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt, Transportation Tagged With: coronavirus, COVID-19, governor mike parson, Missouri Attorney General’s Office, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri legislature, Missouri Office of Administration, NMS LLC

Task force gets some positive news on Missouri spring flooding potential

February 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The National Weather Service says Missouri faces above-average flood risk this spring because soil is still saturated from last spring’s flooding. About 1.2 million acres of Missouri farmland was damaged by flooding in 2019.

Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn (Photo courtesy of Brownfield Ag News)

But, Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn says the Governor’s Flood Advisory Task Force has received a glimmer of good news from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the potential for spring flooding.

“The reservoirs up north right now have more storage capacity than they did last year at this time. So that’s a positive piece of information that we were really glad to hear,” says Chinn.

Chinn is a member of that task force. She farms in northeast Missouri’s Clarence.

“Last year at this time, we had a really deep freeze in the ground. Right now, we don’t have that,” she says. “So, we’re not going into the spring in the exact same situations that we were last year.”

Chinn says a lot of farm ground is unprotected.

“We do have a lot of levees right now that have not been able to be repaired because the water simply did not recede,” she says.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River are hosting meetings in northwest Missouri March 2nd and 3rd for farmers to meet with state and federal emergency management officials and the USDA’s RMA, FSA and NRCS agencies to ask questions and share their concerns.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Legislature, News, Outdoors, Politics / Govt, Transportation, Weather Tagged With: Coalition to Protect the Missouri River, Governor’s Flood Advisory Task Force, Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Farm Bureau, National Weather Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USDA

Missouri sues federal agencies, others in effort to halt proposed North Dakota water project

February 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, and several other officials in an attempt to stop the construction of a water diversion project in North Dakota.

Missouri sues federal agencies, others in effort to halt proposed North Dakota water project

The lawsuit alleges that North Dakota and the Bureau of Reclamation failed to conduct significant analysis on the impact of the Central North Dakota Project, and falsely stated that the project would pose insignificant impacts on “existing water needs and uses.”

The Central North Dakota Project is a proposed water service contract between the North Dakota Garrison Diversion Conservancy District (Garrison Diversion) and the Bureau of Reclamation. That contract is reliant upon the construction of a six mile pipeline that would deliver water from the McClusky Canal to the Red River Valley Water Supply Project. Waters that run through the McClusky Canal originate from Lake Audubon, which is connected to and comprised of Missouri River water.

Noted in the lawsuit is the fact that the Missouri River is already depleted by an average of 5.05 million acre-feet per year by the Garrison Dam, located just downstream of the proposed Central ND Project.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Central Division. View the lawsuit here.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Crime / Courts, Health / Medicine, News, Politics / Govt, Weather Tagged With: Central North Dakota Project, Lake Audubon, McClusky Canal, Missouri Attorney General’s Office, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri River, North Dakota Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, Red River Valley Water Supply Project, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri



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