Poplar Bluff Archives

GOP congressman describes rural Missouri hospital closings as unacceptable (AUDIO)

March 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents 30 counties in southern Missouri has seen five hospital closings in his sprawling district since 2016.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, speaks to a community member at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Festus (2016 file photo courtesy of Congressman Smith’s office)

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, describes the rural hospital closures as unacceptable.

“Just because you live in a zip code that’s in a rural area doesn’t mean that you should have a different class of care, or different opportunities as other people throughout the state,” Smith says.

Smith says people die when hospitals close, noting that rural hospital closures are associated with an increase in an area’s mortality rate.

The state Hospital Association (MHA) says ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014. Five of those happened in Congressman Smith’s district:

** Parkland Health Center in Farmington (2016)
** Southeast Health Center of Reynolds County in Ellington (2016)
** Southeast Health Center of Ripley County in Doniphan (2018)
** Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett (2018)
** Black River Medical Center in Poplar Bluff (2019)

Smith, the GOP Conference Secretary on Capitol Hill, serves on the House Budget Committee. He tells Missourinet that rural hospitals must be reimbursed appropriately.

“Where it’s at the same level as you see in the cities,” says Smith. “The fact that they’re (rural hospitals) not reimbursed at the same levels as the hospitals in St. Louis forces closures, and that’s unacceptable.”

Smith’s district covers 20,000 square miles, from just south of St. Louis to ten miles east of Branson. The district includes Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Dexter, West Plains, Rolla, St. James and Ava.

Congressman Smith is calling for an increase in the number of healthcare professionals that can serve rural Missouri patients.

“Whenever one hospital closes in a community, that has drastic implications and it can cost lives,” Smith says.

Nine of the ten poorest counties in the state are in southeast Missouri, which has seen the largest number of closings.

The Missouri Hospital Association supports Medicaid expansion, which Smith opposes.

Smith spoke to Missourinet, after he traveled recently to Jefferson City to file for his fourth full term. Smith was elected to Congress in 2013, during a special election.

Smith was re-elected in 2018, capturing 73 percent of the vote against Democrat Kathy Ellis. Ms. Ellis, a Festus Democrat, has filed to challenge Smith again this November.

Click here to listen to the full four-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, which was recorded on February 25, 2020 in Jefferson City:

Poplar Bluff, Sedalia, Bloomfield, Columbia and Wentzville highlighted in Missouri State of State (AUDIO)

January 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor says more than 40,000 new jobs have been created since he took office in June 2018 and that the state’s 3.1 percent unemployment rate is at a historic low.

North Carolina-based Nucor is building a $400 million steel rebar manufacturing plant in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia (August 2019 file photo courtesy of Nucor)

During this week’s State of the State Address, Governor Mike Parson (R) emphasized the success of Missouri’s economy, and took the opportunity to highlight rural Missouri towns that are seeing capital investment.

Parson tells state lawmakers that big cities aren’t the only ones generating new jobs.

“Aurora Organic Dairy opened a new processing plant in Columbia, creating over 100 new jobs,” Parson says. “And Purina invested $115 million to expand in Bloomfield, Missouri.”

Bloomfield, a southeast Missouri town of about 1,900, is north of Dexter. Parson traveled there in September to tour the Nestle Purina plant, which makes Tidy Cats brand cat litter.

The plant’s expansion is creating about 30 new jobs, and the state Department of Economic Development (DED) says the expansion is adding a 110,000 square foot processing and packaging facility.

Parson met with Nestle CEO Mark Schneider in Switzerland in June, during his first European trade mission. The governor has noted that Nestle employs more than 3,500 Missourians in Bloomfield, Chesterfield, Earth City, Gray Summit, St. Joseph, St. Louis and Trenton.

During Wednesday’s State of the State, Governor Parson also announced that North Carolina-based Nucor Steel is close to starting production at its $400 million steel mill in Sedalia. Parson also announced that gasoline engine manufacturer Briggs and Stratton is creating 130 new jobs in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff.

State DED Director Rob Dixon praises the news.

“These are companies that are international companies that are looking at Missouri and looking at rural Missouri in particular because of the strength of our workforce, the quality of the people that live here,” says Dixon.

The steel mill in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia is one of the largest projects Missouri has landed in the past decade. The average salary for a Nucor steelworker will be $65,000.

The governor says the average salary for the 130 new jobs at Briggs and Stratton in Poplar Bluff will be $36,531. The company is investing $15 million in the expansion.

Briggs and Stratton is already one of the largest employers in Poplar Bluff, according to the Chamber of Commerce there.

The governor also discussed the eastern Missouri town of Wentzville, during State of the State.

Parson says the decision by General Motors (GM) to invest $1.5 billion into its plant in Wentzville represents one of the largest single-project investments from the private sector in Missouri. Director Dixon tells Missourinet that GM’s Wentzville plant supports about 12,000 jobs across Missouri.

“We secured the long-term viability of that plant in Wentzville. That benefits not just Wentzville, but the entire state,” Dixon says.

DED says out of Missouri’s 227 automotive suppliers, 178 supply GM.

The Wentzville plant produces the GMC Canyon and the Chevrolet Colorado. About 4,600 employees work there.

Wentzville, which is known as the “Crossroads of the Nation”, is one of Missouri’s fastest-growing cities. It sits on I-70 in St. Charles County.

Its current population is about 41,000. The city’s website notes Wentzville’s population jumped from 6,896 in 2000 to 29,070 in the 2010 census.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon, which was recorded on January 15, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

MoDOT replacing 91-year-old bridge in southeast Missouri; first project in “focus on bridges” plan

January 3, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

State transportation officials say the first project in the governor’s “focus on bridges” program is now open to one lane of traffic. The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says a new Highway 72 bridge over Stouts Creek in southeast Missouri’s Iron County opened just before Christmas.

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is replacing the old Highway 72 bridge over Stouts Creek in southeast Missouri’s Iron County. It was built in 1928. (December 2019 photo courtesy of MODOT’s Sally Oxenhandler)

The bridge, which is south of Farmington, connects Ironton and Fredericktown. It’s used by residents and farmers and also people heading to recreate in the area.

MoDOT says the 91-year-old bridge was in such poor condition that they didn’t want vehicles to cross it this winter. The construction contract called for a new bridge, which is being built alongside the 1928 bridge, to be open to one lane of traffic with temporary signals by December.

MoDOT Southeast District spokeswoman Nicole Thieret, who’s based in Sikeston, tells Missourinet MoDOT was able to switch traffic from the existing structure to the new structure in the morning hours on December 20.

MoDOT says the new bridge is expected to be fully completed by spring. Poplar Bluff-based Robertson Construction is the project contractor.

Governor Mike Parson (R) and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) made the bridge bonding measure a priority during the 2019 legislative session. The $350 million measure, which had bipartisan support, will repair or replace 250 of the state’s poorest bridges.

During a February 2019 Missourinet story, Pro Tem Schatz credited Governor Parson for traveling to his district in eastern Missouri’s Franklin County in early 2019 to see one of the 250 bridges, adding that the need for investment in Missouri infrastructure is great.

“Very important, very critical for farmers to be able to get their crops, to get their animals to the market and making sure that those bridges are safe and secure,” Schatz said in that story.

MoDOT says the Highway 72 bridge is one of six in the “focus on bridges” program that’s currently under construction. 43 others are under contract.

Toll roads are “dead on arrival” with key Missouri lawmaker in 2020 (AUDIO)

December 29, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

(This is the second story in Brian Hauswirth’s two-part series about Missouri transportation)

The chairman of Missouri’s Senate Transportation Committee says toll roads are “dead on arrival” with him and are a non-starter. The opposition from State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, is significant because any toll road legislation would have to go before his committee.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on January 10, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Senate photographer Harrison Sweazea)

Libla has looked at states that have tolls.

“You know people talk about how good Oklahoma’s roads are and the fact that they have 17-cents a gallon (state gasoline tax), which is the same as ours,” Libla says. “But what everybody leaves out, just about everywhere you drive (in Oklahoma) you have to drive on a toll road. So you still have to buy gas and pay tolls.”

Missouri voters rejected toll roads at the ballot box in 1970 and again in 1992. Chairman Libla says it’s too late to try to toll aging I-70 across Missouri.

“Interstate 70, we have lost our exemption now to toll that road from the federal government, so we can’t toll it anyway. Now you can build a new toll road.”

But Libla opposes that, saying the state owns its transportation assets. He instead has filed legislation to raise Missouri’s gas tax from 17 to 19-cents per gallon. He tells Missourinet state lawmakers can raise it on their own, adding they have a fiduciary duty to do it on their own.

His proposal, which is Senate Bill 539, would also increase the tax on diesel fuel from 17 to 23-cents per gallon. Libla’s legislation would also adjust the taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel annually for inflation.

He predicts his proposal would raise about $144 million annually for transportation. Libla also says we’ve funded roads and bridges for 95 years in Missouri with a gas tax.

While Missouri has the nation’s seventh-largest highway system with 34,000 miles of roadway, it ranks 49th in funding. Missouri’s gas tax has remained the same since 1996. It was part of a bipartisan 1992 agreement between former Governor John Ashcroft (R) and former House Speaker Bob Griffin, D-Cameron.

Missouri voters rejected a proposed ten-cent gas tax increase in November 2018. Libla says the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is dipping into reserves for federal matching funds. He praises the work MoDOT has done, with the resources they are given.

MoDOT has said that congestion in St. Louis and Kansas City and along Interstates 44 and 70 in Missouri is causing an annual economic loss of $575 million.

Click here to read the first story in Brian Hauswirth’s transportation series.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee Chairman Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, which was recorded on December 10, 2019:

Libla predicts gas tax increase plan would raise $144 million annually for Missouri transportation (AUDIO)

December 22, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

(This is the first story in Brian Hauswirth’s two-part series about Missouri transportation)

Legislation that would increase Missouri’s gasoline tax from 17 to 19 cents per gallon has been filed by the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee chairman.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, briefs Capitol reporters on May 10, 2018 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Missouri Senate photographer Harrison
Sweazea)

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, notes Missouri’s 17-cent gas tax has remained the same since 1996, and says the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is dipping into reserves for federal matching funds.

“It’s simple math,” Libla says. “You can’t purchase 2019, 2020 goods and services like asphalt, concrete, labor, steel with 1996 dollars.”

The bill would also raise the tax on diesel fuel from 17 to 23 cents per gallon.

Libla tells Missourinet lawmakers can raise the gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by this amount on their own, adding they have a fiduciary duty to do it on their own. He says his proposal is in line with the Hancock Amendment.

“We’re (state lawmakers) elected to represent our constituents and also represent the state of Missouri and to make sure that we protect the assets of the state,” says Libla.

Missouri voters rejected a proposed ten-cent gas tax increase in November 2018.

While Missouri has the nation’s seventh-largest highway system with 34,000 miles of roadway, it ranks 49th in funding.

Chairman Libla predicts his proposal to increase Missouri’s gasoline and diesel fuel taxes would raise about $144 million annually for transportation. He says cities and counties would receive about $44 million of that, while the rest would go to MoDOT for maintenance and new road and bridge construction.

Libla’s legislation would also adjust the taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel annually for inflation. Libla says we’ve funded roads and bridges in Missouri for 95 years with a gas tax.

He says there are road problems throughout the state.

“You know we have traffic congestion that’s costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” Libla says. “We’ve got safety issues, we’ve got families traveling, we’ve got school buses, we’ve got kids traveling everyday.”

Missouri’s 21st century transportation system task force submitted an 87-page report to the Legislature in January 2018, recommending a ten-cent gasoline tax increase and a 12-cent diesel tax increase. In that report, MoDOT said that congestion in St. Louis and Kansas City and along Interstates 44 and 70 in Missouri is causing an annual economic loss of $575 million.

“The cost of congestion in Kansas City and St. Louis have increased every year since 2013, along with the volume of traffic. The economic cost to Missouri drivers from congestion averages $43 per month per driver,” the January 2018 report read.

Libla says MoDOT has done an outstanding job, with the resources they are given.

Libla’s bill is Senate Bill 539. The 2020 legislative session begins on January 8 in Jefferson City.

Severe storms and brief tornadoes possible across Missouri tonight (AUDIO)

November 26, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning that much of Missouri could see severe weather Tuesday evening, into the early morning hours.

The National Weather Service is warning that severe thunderstorms and brief tornadoes are possible across Missouri tonight (November 26, 2019 map courtesy of NWS St. Louis Twitter)

Southeast Missouri towns like Poplar Bluff, Cape Girardeau, Caruthersville and Kennett are now at an enhanced risk.

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair describes it as a dynamic storm system that we normally see in the spring.

“Western Missouri, we’re looking at sometime around or just a little after sunset,” Blair says. “And that threat will quickly progress to the east as we head into the late evening and early overnight hours.”

Most of Missouri is in the “slight” risk category. Cities is that category include Columbia, Jefferson City, Kirksville, Hannibal, Springfield, Joplin and West Plains. Blair says those areas could see strong thunderstorms with winds capable of producing a brief tornado.

“The good news though is that if there happens to be any tornadoes, we’re not looking at the real long track strong or violent type. This is going to be more of a brief type of tornado out there,” says Blair.

45 mile-per-hour winds are expected across the state tonight. The biggest threat in much of the state will be damaging wind gusts.

The NWS says the storms will be moving fast.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on November 26, 2019:

Missouri senators expected to hold lengthy hearing Monday about gun violence

November 2, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri Senate committee studying gun violence is expected to hear several hours of testimony Monday in Jefferson City.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, speaks at the Statehouse in Jefferson City on May 10, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Missouri Senate photographer Harrison Sweazea)

The chairman of the newly-formed Senate Interim Committee on Public Safety is expecting a lengthy hearing at the Statehouse. The committee meets Monday morning at 10, and chairman State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, tells Missourinet each of the seven senators on the committee has invited witnesses from different backgrounds and expertise.

U-S Attorney Tim Garrison has noted that St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield are three of the top 15 most violent cities in the nation, on a per capita basis.

Chairman Libla says it’s time for the senators to put their minds together and get some direction on the gun violence issue.

Republicans have a 4-3 majority on the committee, and State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, has praised Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, for forming the committee. She hopes it will come up with a blueprint to reduce the violence.

Senator Nasheed, who serves on the committee, describes increasing gun violence as a public health crisis.

“I want those individual experts to be able to come in and talk about what are the legislative best practices that we can push to help reduce the type of violence that we’re seeing in our community,” Nasheed says.

At least 13 children have been killed in St. Louis city shootings in 2019, and there have been 122 homicides in Kansas City this year. In mid-Missouri’s Columbia, there were five murders in September.

Senator Nasheed, who successfully pushed Schatz to create the committee, looks forward to a productive interim committee. She tells Missourinet the violence is “plaguing” inner cities and outstate.

“I look forward to a plan in terms of legislation so that we can be able to curb this gun violence in the city of St. Louis, Kansas City and throughout the state of Missouri,” says Nasheed.

The committee is expected to come up with recommendations by December, for the 2020 legislative session that begins in January.

Millions of dollars in Missouri state fairground improvements about to begin in Sedalia

October 14, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

About $8 million in new upgrades and repairs will be starting soon at the sprawling state fairgrounds in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor on April 30, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Senate photographer Harrison Sweazea)

Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee Chairman Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, pushed for the repairs and spoke about the issue on the Senate floor, even though his southeast Missouri district is 260 miles away from Sedalia.

“You know I’m from Poplar Bluff, a long ways from here. But we (residents in his southeast Missouri district) take a lot of pride in our state, we take a lot of pride in our state fair. We take a lot of pride in our FFA kids, and our students get to come here (Sedalia) and learn about agriculture,” Libla says.

Senator Libla, who represents eight southeast Missouri counties, tells Missourinet that investing more money in state fairgrounds facilities will pay dividends in the future. He also says the state fair is an opportunity for urban children to hear about farming.

“We need to make sure our farm families are being taken care of, make sure they’re being represented, and this (the state fair) is a good way for the urban kids to also learn about agriculture,” says Libla.

A spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) told Missourinet on Friday that the $8 million in projects at the state fairgrounds are all in various stages of development, with design, bid or construction starting soon.

A complete electrical upgrade to the swine barn is planned, along with a new 150-site campground for exhibitors only. Planned improvements also include a complete renovation to the old sheep pavilion.

Governor Mike Parson and State Fair Director Mark Wolfe say more than 337,000 people attended the State Fair in August.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, who represents southern Missouri, says the seven Bootheel counties produce more than one-third of the agricultural products for the entire state. Smith represents the eight counties that Libla represents in the Senate.

Libla: a user tax for Missouri transportation is still a conservative position (AUDIO)

October 8, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The chairman of the Missouri Senate Transportation Committee supports a gasoline tax increase, saying that our roads and bridges must be funded adequately.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor on January 10, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Senate photographer Harrison Sweazea)

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, chairs the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety committee. He tells Missourinet we’ve funded roads and bridges for 95 years in Missouri with a gas tax.

“Back in the day when I first became a Republican, a user tax was a conservative Republican position,” Libla says. “And I still believe so today. I think those who use the roads should help pay for them.”

Missouri’s 17-cent per gallon gas tax has remained the same since 1996. Voters rejected a proposed ten-cent gas tax increase in November.

Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R) notes Missouri has the seventh-largest infrastructure system, but ranks 49th in funding.

Libla, who represents eight southeast Missouri counties, emphasizes that local officials help to decide key projects.

“We have planning commissions all over this state, so it’s not just a few people deciding where a new road or a new intersection goes in or a new four-lane or whatever,” says Libla.

He says transportation is critical for both urban and rural residents, noting Missouri’s $88 billion agricultural industry is the state’s top industry.

Meantime, Chairman Libla says the heavily-traveled stretch of Highway 50 between California and Sedalia in mid-Missouri needs to be four-laned. He says it’s similar to some highways in his sprawling district.

“It’s two-lane, you have some people wanting to drive the speed limit, you have some who want to drive 15 mile (per hour) under it. And you get a lot of backup, people get impatient, so on and so forth,” Libla says.

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) included the Highway 50 project from California to Sedalia in the August 2014 ballot measure known as Amendment 7, which was defeated at the polls. At that time, MoDOT estimated it would cost $122 million to four-lane that stretch.

MoDOT also notes that the central district planning partners have identified the next segment of Highway 50 as an unfunded priority. The segment, which is from California to Tipton, would cost about $44 million.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, which was recorded at the State Fair in Sedalia on August 15, 2019:

Bellefontaine Neighbors “hammered” by seven inches of rain; Missouri heat advisory remains (AUDIO)

August 12, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says parts of north St. Louis County received more than six inches of rain and flooding early Monday morning. NWS hydrologist Mark Fuchs tells Missourinet far north county was “hammered” by rain.

“Folks in north County had upwards of over seven inches of rain, measured, in automated rain gauges up around Bellefontaine Neighbors and Glasgow Village,” Fuchs says.

The NWS issued numerous flash flood warnings across the St. Louis metropolitan area this morning.

“Just an incredible amount of water and quite a bit of flash flooding across north county,” says Fuchs.

Meantime, virtually all of Missouri remains under a heat advisory until 9 p.m. Monday. The heat index in Columbia and Jefferson City makes it feel like 107 degrees, and the heat index in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff is about 110.

Fuchs tells Missourinet the heat has created a dangerous situation in which heat-related illnesses are possible.

“We’re looking at heat indices in parts of west-central Missouri, heat indices might exceed 110 degrees. And the same is true down in southeast Missouri,” Fuchs says.

You’re being urged to drink plenty of water and to avoid strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with NWS hydrologist Mark Fuchs, which was recorded on August 12, 2019: