Neosho Archives - Missourinet

Proposed Missouri constitutional amendment is aimed at checkpoints and roadblocks

March 30, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

You’ll be voting next November on a proposed constitutional amendment involving checkpoints and roadblocks, if a veteran Missouri lawmaker has his way.

State Rep. Justin Hill (R-Lake St. Louis) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 3, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Justin Hill (R-Lake St. Louis) will present his proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday at noon, before the Missouri House Downsizing State Government Committee in Jefferson City. The committee is chaired by State Rep. Ben Baker (R-Neosho).

Hill served 13 years with the O’Fallon Police Department. His one-page proposal, which is House Joint Resolution 11, would prohibit a roadside checkpoint or roadblock set up by law enforcement, except in emergency situations to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon, or in the case of civil unrest.

If Missouri lawmakers approve Hill’s proposal this session, it would be placed on the 2022 statewide ballot.

Missouri House committee to hear testimony Monday on gun bill involving churches

February 7, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would allow the concealed carrying of guns in churches and other places of worship with a concealed carry permit will be heard Monday evening by a Missouri House committee in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 3, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House General Laws Committee will hear testimony from State Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho. Baker’s House bill 359 is five pages long, and it’s similar to 2020 legislation.

Baker represents Neosho and Newton County in the Missouri House. Southwest Missouri’s Neosho was the scene of a high-profile deadly church shooting in August 2007.

Eiken Elam Saimon is serving three life sentences without parole for killing three people at the First Congregational Church in downtown Neosho. Four others inside the church were wounded.

The “Joplin Globe” reports Saimon pleaded guilty to first degree murder and assault charges. The newspaper reports Saimon walked into the church in 2007 with a semiautomatic pistol and a 22-caliber handgun and opened fire, before taking 20 church members hostage in a sanctuary and threatening to kill one every 30 minutes.

The “Joplin Globe” reports he was stopped when law enforcement officers stormed the sanctuary.

Saimon is incarcerated at the maximum-security South Central Correctional Center in southern Missouri’s Licking.

Five tornado warnings issued Saturday across southwest Missouri; no deaths or damage reported

January 31, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Saturday’s severe storms across the Ozarks prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield to issue five tornado warnings.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued five tornado warnings for southwest Missouri on Saturday (January 30, 2021 graphic courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter)

January tornado warnings are rare in Missouri. NWS Springfield officials tell Missourinet there were no deaths nor serious injuries, and there’s no reports of damage at this time.

Southwest Missouri’s Joplin, Neosho, Monett, Pierce City, Goodman and Cassville were some of the communities under tornado warnings.

While there wasn’t severe weather in other parts of Missouri, Kansas City and several other cities received almost a month’s worth of rainfall on Saturday.

The NWS in Pleasant Hill says Kansas City’s normal monthly precipitation amount for January is 1.07 inches. .85 fell in Kansas City on Saturday, while one inch of rain was reported in Lee’s Summit.

Northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph saw .92, while more than an inch of rain fell in northeast Missouri’s Kirksville.

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Jared Leighton says more than one inch of rain fell in both Columbia and Jefferson City. There was heavy rain all day Saturday in both mid-Missouri communities.

La-Z-Boy to resume partial operations at large southwest Missouri plant next week

April 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

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

One of southwest Missouri’s biggest manufacturers will resume partial production at its Neosho plant on Monday.

Missourinet Joplin affiliate KZRG reports furniture company La-Z-Boy furloughed about 800 employees at the Neosho plant in late March, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company as a whole laid about 6,800 employees, or about 70 percent of its workforce.

KZRG reports it’s unclear how many of them will return to work on Monday morning.

Neosho, a town of about 12,000 residents, is the county seat in Newton County. The town is nicknamed the “City of Springs.” Newton County Presiding Commissioner Bill Reiboldt tells Missourinet that La-Z-Boy is Neosho’s largest manufacturer.

KZRG reports the products produced in Neosho will address a backlog, as La-Z-Boy looks to re-open their retail stores during the next several weeks.

Budget chair Smith backs Missouri governor’s budget withholds (AUDIO)

April 1, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s House Budget Committee chairman supports Governor Mike Parson’s (R) decision to withhold $180 million in state spending, to ensure a balanced state budget during the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor announced the expenditure restrictions on Wednesday afternoon in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks on the House floor in Jefferson City on March 18, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, notes thousands of people have lost their jobs.

“Certainly this is unprecedented, but this pandemic has been incredibly disruptive not only to everyone’s daily life and those affected directly, but also to the economy,” Smith says.

For the week ending on March 21, more than 42,000 unemployment claims were filed in Missouri, up from 4,000 filed the prior week.

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted jobs in southwest Missouri, which is where Smith lives. Missourinet Joplin affiliate KZRG reported this week that La-Z-Boy has temporarily closed all U.S. manufacturing operations, including its large factory in Neosho. That decision has put 800 workers in southwest Missouri out of jobs, for the time being. La-Z-Boy will re-evaluate on April 13.

Governor Parson is warning that the state could see a $500 million budget shortfall between now and the end of June. Budget Chairman Smith shares the governor’s hope that millions of dollars in federal funding could help with the state’s cash-flow crunch.

“It should be noted that the governor is taking these measures in light of what we do know, that we will be receiving from the federal government, as far as the relief funds go,” says Smith.

The governor says the revenue declines could be larger than those experienced during the Great Recession.

The UM System president says the budget withholds announced by Governor Parson will total about $36 million for the University system. Dr. Mun Choi has issued a statement, saying the system “appreciates everything that our elected officials are doing during this unprecedented time.”

Chairman Smith praises Dr. Choi’s position.

“I appreciate President Choi’s words there, I hope that’s the spirit with which everyone is taking these measures that the governor has made,” Smith says.

Dr. Choi says the state is working hard to prioritize its resources, and that we must all work together to get past the crisis.

Missouri health officials say there are now 1,581 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, along with 18 deaths. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) released the latest numbers Wednesday afternoon.

Click here to view the full list of expenditure restrictions.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, which was recorded on April 1, 2020: