Moberly Archives - Missourinet

Military installations have major presence in Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District

April 15, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House committee on congressional redistricting will hear public testimony Thursday morning in Jefferson City from residents who live in west-central Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Harrisonville) is serving in her sixth term on Capitol Hill (file photo courtesy of the congresswoman’s website)

The 24-county district includes Columbia, Moberly, Sedalia, Warrensburg, Waynesville, Lebanon and Nevada. Fort Leonard Wood near Waynesville and Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster are both located in the 4th District.

In-person and written testimony will be accepted Thursday morning at 8:30 at the Statehouse. The Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting is looking for information from residents about the district’s characteristics, including the things that make it good and bad.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Harrisonville) has represented the district since 2011. She is serving in her sixth term on Capitol Hill, and is on the House Armed Services and Agriculture committees.

Congresswoman Hartzler defeated Democrat Lindsey Simmons in November, winning 67 percent of the vote. Hartzler received 245,247 votes, to Simmons’ 107,635.

The late U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Lexington) was the last Democrat to represent the sprawling district. He served 17 terms and 34 years in Congress, including a stint as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Skelton served in Congress from 1977 to 2011. Hartzler unseated him in November 2010.

Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska governors plan bipartisan Thursday meeting on river and Corps-related issues

April 8, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor will join the governors of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska Thursday afternoon in Council Bluffs, to follow-up on Missouri River issues and about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Governor Mike Parson talks to Missouri National Guard members in northern Missouri on June 3, 2019, after an aerial tour of massive flooding (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

This will be at least the fourth bipartisan meeting between Governor Mike Parson (R) and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts (R), Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D). While their 3 p.m. meeting will be closed, the governors will brief reporters after the event at the Council Bluffs Police Department.

The governors have signed a four-state agreement to cooperate on issues relating to flood control and the Corps.

Governor Parson is still frustrated over the 2019 flooding, which hit northern Missouri especially hard. The Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, says more than 1.4 million acres of farmland in the state went unplanted in 2019, due to flooding.

The flooding also caused the October 2019 collapse of the heavily-traveled railroad bridge over the Grand River in northern Missouri’s Brunswick, causing Norfolk Southern to suspend freight train service between Moberly and Kansas City for a time.

Brunswick is a small farming community, between Carrollton and Moberly. The National Weather Service (NWS) Missouri Basin River forecast center said in 2019 that backwater from flood debris helped cause that bridge to collapse. The logjam collapsed the train tracks.

Governor Parson will also be heading to northwest Missouri’s rural Rock Port on Thursday morning, to tour a major levee known as L-536. He’ll tour the levee and will meet with farmers who were impacted by the 2019 flooding.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Tarkio), who’s the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill, has told Missourinet that flood control and navigation must be the top priority for the Corps, regarding the Missouri River.

Parson: Distributing COVID vaccines to as many Missouri pharmacies as possible will expand accessibility

March 5, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor announced on Thursday that pharmacies across the state will soon be receiving prioritized shipments of the COVID vaccine. Governor Mike Parson tells Capitol reporters in Jefferson City that it’s part of a new partnership with the Missouri Pharmacy Association.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson visits a vaccination clinic at Christian Hospital Northeast near Florissant on March 4, 2021 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

“Starting next week, 15 percent of our weekly state allocation will be distributed to selected pharmacies across the state,” Parson says.

The governor describes local pharmacies as a trusted health care resource for many Missourians.

“161 pharmacies have been identified in 84 counties and were selected based on ability, location and population,” says Parson.

Missouri has 114 counties, as well as St. Louis City. Pharmacy locations include St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Jefferson City, as well as numerous rural Missouri towns. They include Sedalia, Clinton, Warrensburg, Warrenton, Sullivan, Moberly, Mexico, Sikeston, Portageville, Malden, Kennett, Chillicothe, St. Joseph, Nevada and Joplin. You can find the entire nine-page pharmacy list here.

Governor Parson says the pharmacies have the ability to administer 200 initial doses of COVID vaccines per week.

Meantime, the governor says mass vaccination teams will soon start transitioning operations to include a larger presence in both St. Louis and Kansas City.

“Vaccine interest is often highest in the urban populations,” Parson says. “So starting next week, we will begin transitioning mass vaccination teams to accommodate more events in Region A, which is the Kansas City region, and Region C, in the St. Louis region.”

The governor envisions having the Missouri National Guard in the St. Louis and Kansas City metro areas for future two-day vaccination events, where the Guard would administer about 6,000 doses per day and 12,000 doses in two days.

Governor Parson says the St. Louis and Kansas City regions have been receiving the same share of the COVID vaccine as rural areas have. He also continues to praise the work of the Missouri National Guard at targeted vaccination clinics in the two metro areas.

The governor visited a targeted vaccination clinic Thursday at Cambridge Senior Living in St. Louis. The targeted vaccination teams serve vulnerable populations in communities with limited access to health care. He also visited a vaccination clinic held at Christian Hospital Northeast, near the St. Louis suburb of Florissant.

Governor Parson says COVID activity in the state has declined for the seventh straight week, adding that the Show-Me State is second in the nation for average daily cases. Missouri vaccinators have now administered about 1.4 million COVID vaccinations, which includes the first and second shot.

15 percent of Missouri’s population has now received at least one shot, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) COVID-19 dashboard.

Missouri lawmaker wants to see statewide mass vaccination event for teachers (AUDIO)

February 24, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A freshman Missouri lawmaker is calling on the Parson administration to prioritize teachers for COVID vaccinations. State Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, wants to see teachers moved from tier three to tier two.

State Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 23, 2021, as State Rep. Neil Smith (D-St. Louis County) listens (photo: Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“Right now, there’s a potential that they could not get the first vaccination shot for possibly months. Could be possibly two to three months, there’s no guarantee,” Burton says.

State Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) director Dr. Randall Williams told Capitol reporters last week that the Parson administration’s main focus continues to be the most vulnerable and elderly residents.

“Our north star is our most vulnerable, and I think I’ve told you (Capitol reporters) the second thing I look at every morning after I look at the case rate is the percentage of our senior citizens who’ve been vaccinated,” says Dr. Williams.

That percentage is now 38 percent for those 85 and older, and 26 percent for those ages 75-84.

As for Representative Burton, he’s also asking the Parson administration to consider a statewide mass vaccination event for teachers.

“It will make the parents of those students safer, it will make the grandparents of those students safer. And I think that we need to prioritize the teachers,” Burton says.

An online petition is circulating in support of Burton’s call.

“We do have a petition going around right now, it has over 2,000 signatures. It’s been signed from people all across the state,” says Burton.

Burton tells Missourinet he’s had good conversations with Dr. Williams, adding that they both understand where the other is coming from and will keep the conversation going.

Missouri vaccinators have now administered more than one-million total doses of the COVID vaccine. About 709,000 Missourians have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is about 11.5 percent of the population.

The Missouri National Guard, DHSS and local health partners are planning multiple mass vaccination events on Wednesday. Events will be taking place in northern Missouri’s Moberly, northwest Missouri’s Princeton, southwest Missouri’s Anderson, west-central Missouri’s Warsaw and in southeast Missouri’s Bollinger County.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full five-minute interview with State Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, which was recorded on February 22, 2021:

Tractor Supply: it’s business as usual for them and Orscheln; focus is on regulatory approval

February 19, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A company that’s acquired Moberly-based Orscheln Farm and Home says it’s business as usual for now.

Moberly-based Orscheln operates 61 stores across rural Missouri, including one in northeast Missouri’s Mexico (graphic courtesy of Orscheln Facebook page)

Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Company has purchased Moberly-based Orscheln in an all-cash transaction for $297 million.

Orscheln’s headquarters and distribution center are located in Moberly, and Orscheln operates 61 stores across rural Missouri. The store locations include Moberly, Mexico, Marshall, Cameron, Nevada, Sikeston and Sullivan. Tractor Supply has 27 Missouri store locations.

A Tractor Supply spokeswoman tells Missourinet that it’s business as usual right now for those stores and that no other plans have been announced at this time. The spokeswoman says Tractor Supply’s focus is now on regulatory approval.

Tractor Supply’s website describes the company as the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the nation.

Barry Orscheln, the longtime chairman and CEO at Orscheln Farm and Home, is well-known in Moberly and across rural Missouri. He’s issued a statement, saying the future is bright.

“For more than 60 years, my family, our Orscheln Farm and Home employees and I have been committed to serving the needs of rural communities across the Midwest. I am very proud of all that we have accomplished over this time. I am confident that with Tractor Supply, our stores will be well-positioned to continue Orscheln’s tradition of taking care of our customers and communities for the next phase of growth,” Orscheln’s statement reads.

Tractor Supply’s press release says they intend to fund the acquisition through existing cash on hand.

Power outages are likely in southeast Missouri, where ice storm warning takes effect at midnight

February 9, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Far southeast Missouri will be under an ice storm warning starting at midnight Wednesday. That warning goes through 6 on Thursday evening.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Paducah has issued an ice storm warning for far southeast Missouri (February 9, 2021 graphic courtesy of NWS Paducah Twitter)

Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Kennett, Caruthersville and Malden are all in the ice storm warning area. That includes heavily-traveled I-55. The Bootheel could receive more than one-third of an inch of ice. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Paducah describes this as a significant ice storm, adding that ice accumulations will likely cause scattered power outages in far southeast Missouri.

Much of the ice storm warning area was also hit by the deadly January 2009 ice storm, which brought three days of ice, sleet and snow to the region.

The Delta Center in Portageville notes the 2009 storm left about 100,000 people without power from Poplar Bluff to the Bootheel to southern Illinois. More than 100 shelters were opened across southeast Missouri, because of that ice storm.

As for Wednesday’s storm, Perryville and Marble Hill will see some ice. Those two towns are not in the warning area.

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is urging motorists across Missouri to get a full tank of gas tonight, noting that light snow and freezing precipitation will impact much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday. The winter storm will impact both the morning and evening commute on both days, for a number of areas.

MoDOT is urging you to prepare to double or triple your average commute time, once the precipitation starts falling. They also urge you to have extra blankets and gloves in your vehicle, as well as water and snacks. Your cellphone should also be fully charged.

In mid-Missouri, Columbia and Jefferson City will see snow again on Wednesday. Columbia could see up to three inches, while the Capital City is expected to see one to two inches.

The weather will get even colder this week. High temperatures across northern and central Missouri on Saturday and Sunday will be between zero and ten degrees. NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Emily Klaus tells Missourinet Columbia, Jefferson City, Moberly, Kansas City and Marshall will be impacted by the frigid temperatures.

UPDATE: New Year’s Day winter storm could bring half-inch of ice to portions of Missouri (AUDIO)

January 1, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) is urging most Missourians to avoid traveling most of New Year’s Day, as a major winter storm approaches from the south.

The National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Pleasant Hill and Springfield have issued winter storm warnings for large parts of Missouri (December 31, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Pamela Pietrycha says Kansas City, Columbia, Jefferson City, Chillicothe, Moberly and Marshall will be under a winter storm warning starting at midnight, January 1st.

“Generally along that Butler to Sedalia to Moberly line, including Columbia, Jefferson City and some areas south of there … could see a quarter-of-an-inch all the way up to perhaps a half-an-inch of ice accumulation,” Pietrycha says.

Mid-Missouri’s Boonville and northeast Missouri’s Hannibal are also included in the warning area.

“If you don’t need to travel, please don’t. Conditions are going to deteriorate very rapidly tomorrow (New Year’s Day) morning especially,” says Pietrycha.

Many other parts of Missouri will be under a winter weather advisory. Northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph and Trenton are in the advisory area.

“We’re looking at about one to three inches (of snow), possibly some people on the south side of St. Joe (St. Joseph), down towards the Kansas City area would see a little bit higher snowfall,” Pietrycha says.

Meantime, the NWS Springfield office says southwest Missouri’s Lebanon and Bolivar could see up to a half-inch of ice. Waynesville, which is near Fort Leonard Wood, could get a quarter-of-an-inch of ice.

Those areas are all under a winter storm warning, along with Osage Beach.

The NWS Springfield office is urging residents across the Ozarks to be prepared for the loss of power.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Pamela Pietrycha, which was recorded on December 31, 2020:

Christmas Eve and Christmas Catholic masses will be different this year in Missouri (AUDIO)

December 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The COVID pandemic has prompted the Roman Catholic Church to schedule additional Christmas Eve masses this year, and 3 p.m. Christmas Eve services will be allowed for the first time ever in Missouri.

St. Mary Parish in mid-Missouri’s Glasgow is located in the Diocese of Jefferson City (December 2020 photo courtesy of Bishop McKnight)

Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2017, says the early Christmas Eve masses are the most popular ones of the year.

“We are stepping things up in order to provide even multiple opportunities for mass perhaps even in the same parish. Having more than one mass going at the same time,” Bishop McKnight says.

The Diocese of Jefferson City has 110 parishes in 38 counties in central, west-central and northeast Missouri. The diocese includes Jefferson City, Columbia, Boonville, Hannibal, Moberly, Marshall, Rolla and Sedalia.

Columbia’s Our Lady of Lourdes church, the largest parish in the diocese, is offering two separate 3 pm and 5 pm masses on Christmas Eve.

Some of the other larger parishes in the state have similar plans. Assumption Parish in eastern Missouri’s O’Fallon plans a 4 p.m. Christmas Eve mass in the church and a 4:15 p.m. mass in the chapel.

“The more opportunities that we have available, then the greater allowances for social distancing,” says McKnight.

Bishop McKnight has asked every available priest in his diocese to celebrate a 3 p.m. Christmas Eve mass. He says it’s about safety during the pandemic.

“It was a recommendation of the priest council of the diocese to me several months ago that we move up the time period for Christmas vigil masses,” McKnight says. “Normally, it’s at 4 o’clock, the earliest mass that can take place before a holy day.”

Masks and social distancing are required at all masses in Missouri, and the bishops in all four dioceses have given Catholics dispensation from mass obligations until further notice. That’s due to the pandemic.

Bishop McKnight says divine law still requires Catholics to pray the rosary, read scripture or watch a live-streamed mass, if they’re unable to attend mass in-person.

He’ll celebrate a Christmas Eve mass at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight, which was recorded on December 17, 2020:

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

October 26, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

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:

Missouri congresswoman says Republican National Convention will focus on optimism and heroes (AUDIO)

August 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A west-central Missouri GOP congresswoman says this week’s 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte will focus on optimism.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, spoke at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia on August 21, 2020, along with two USDA officials (photo courtesy of Brownfield’s Julie Harker)

While U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, isn’t a delegate this year, she’s excited about the convention.

“And looking at the great American heroes that we have in our local communities, and how we together collectively have made this the greatest country in the world,” Hartzler says.

She predicts Americans will be inspired by their stories. The convention, which begins Monday, will primarily be virtual.

Congresswoman Hartzler says law-and-order will be a theme at the convention. She is praising President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“Making us safer as a nation and contrasting that to what we’re seeing on the other side of chaos and lawlessness versus law and other. I don’t think we want to go there,” says Hartzler.

The widow of retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn will be addressing the nation on Thursday evening. Mr. Dorn was killed during June looting on a night where four other St. Louis police officers were also shot, in the line of duty.

St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards told St. Louis reporters the next day that more than 200 people engaged in “persistent criminal activity” overnight. He also announced that the FBI, ATF, the Missouri National Guard, Missouri State Highway Patrol and other agencies had arrived to help patrol St. Louis, after the early June incidents.

Hartzler, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, says this week’s convention will also focus on the military. Her district includes Fort Leonard Wood in southern Missouri’s Pulaski County, and Whiteman Air Force Base in western Missouri’s Knob Noster.

“I think it’s going to look at the amazing achievements that have been done in the last three or four years, to grow the economy, to rebuild our military,” Hartzler says.

Hartzler, who was elected to the House in 2010, is finishing her fifth term on Capitol Hill. Her district also includes Columbia, Moberly, Sedalia and Nevada.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey of St. Louis are scheduled to speak on Monday evening. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner (D) filed a felony unlawful use of a weapon count against each of the McCloskeys, for a June incident outside their Central West End home. They were seen pointing guns at protesters. The McCloskeys have said they feared for their lives that evening.

Like last week’s Democratic convention, Missourinet will have coverage throughout the GOP convention.

Congresswoman Hartzler spoke to Missourinet on Friday, after an event with two top USDA officials at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, which was recorded on August 21, 2020 outside the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri in Columbia: