St. Joseph Archives - Missourinet

Missouri Congressman Graves: it’s time to get the economy open again

November 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Voters in northern Missouri are sending U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, back to Washington for his 11th term on Capitol Hill. Graves captured 67 percent of the vote Tuesday against Platte City Democrat Gena Ross.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, (right) speaks to a farmer at the Port of St. Joseph on September 1, 2020 (photo courtesy of Congressman Graves’ Facebook page)

Graves, the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Transportation Committee, tells Missourinet that it’s humbling to be re-elected.

“You know I want to continue to do exactly what I do, and that is represent the 6th District to Washington D.C. I will not represent Washington D.C. back to the 6th District,” Graves says.

His top priority is getting the economy open again.

“We have businesses and small businesses that are literally going broke because of what the government has done. And we have to get this economy going again and we got to get people back on their feet,” says Graves.

He’s also focusing on agriculture. He notes there are fewer and fewer farmers in the Congress.

The sixth congressional district covers 36 counties, and is larger than nine states. Graves’ district includes St. Joseph, Bethany, Chillicothe, Hannibal, Macon and Memphis.

Graves is the new dean of Missouri’s congressional delegation, after U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, was defeated in the August primary by Cori Bush. Ms. Bush was elected to Congress on Tuesday, becoming the first African-American female to represent the state in Congress.

Graves and Clay had been the co-deans of the delegation. Both were elected to Congress in 2000.

Missouri’s Parson and Galloway to focus on their base in final day of gubernatorial campaign

November 1, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s two main gubernatorial candidates have busy schedules on Monday, one day before election day.

Governor Mike Parson (R) spoke Saturday at a rally in St. Peters with former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. That’s in St. Charles County, which has been a Republican stronghold. It’s an area Republicans need to do well on Tuesday.

The governor campaigns Monday in Jefferson City, St. Joseph, Kirksville, Palmyra, Cape Girardeau and Cassville, continuing his focus on rural towns. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) will join Parson at the Cassville event, in southwest Missouri.

Ann Dorn, the widow of slain St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, will join Parson on Monday’s tour, along with former gubernatorial candidate John Brunner and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association’s Mike Deering.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nicole Galloway, the state auditor, attended two church services Sunday in St. Louis. She also met with Democrats in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, two jurisdictions that are crucial to Democratic success in statewide races.

Galloway will begin Monday in Columbia, where she will attend a literature drop launch with area Democrats. She also speaks at the Missouri Democratic Party’s election eve rally Monday evening in Kansas City. It will feature all of the party’s statewide candidates: Alissia Canady, Yinka Faleti, Rich Finneran and Vicki Englund.

Galloway continues to focus on hospital closings, noting ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014.

Parson is focusing on rural values and experience.

Polls will be open Tuesday statewide from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. The Secretary of State’s office says a combined total of 723,058 mail-in and absentee ballots have already been returned to Missouri election authorities. Most of those are absentee ballots.

Platte City resident hopes to become first Democrat to represent far northern Missouri in Congress in 20 years

October 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(News director Brent Martin at Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ contributed to this story)

The Democrat running against U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, in northern Missouri battled COVID this year, and says a mask mandate early on could have saved lives.

Platte City resident Gena Ross won the August Democratic nomination and is facing Graves, a dean of Missouri’s congressional delegation. Ross is an adjunct professor at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. She’s also an assistant professor of business and American government at a Kansas City area community college.

She tells Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ (AM 680) that she was hospitalized twice for COVID, spending a total of nine days in the hospital. She tells KFEQ host Barry Birr that her experience showed her how devastating the coronavirus is.

“Corona is wicked. It is demonic,” she says. “It has no respect of person. It’s invisible. So, just protect yourself the best that you can.”

She also criticizes President Trump, saying he didn’t take the virus seriously enough, soon enough.

Ross faces Congressman Graves next month. Graves is seeking his 11th term on Capitol Hill. The sprawling, rural district hasn’t sent a Democrat to Washington since Pat Danner. The Smithville Democrat served in Congress from 1993-2001.

The sixth congressional district is larger than nine states. It includes 36 counties and the towns of St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Trenton, Bethany, Kirksville, Hannibal and Memphis.

Congressman Graves’ priorities on Capitol Hill have included agriculture and flood control.

Click here to read the full story about Gena Ross, from Brent Martin at Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ Radio.

Northern Missouri food bank leader testifies before Congress about hunger needs, during pandemic

July 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The chief executive officer of a northwest Missouri food bank testifies the response and recovery effort from COVID-19 will be the largest relief assistance program in American history, by far.

Second Harvest Community Food Bank serves 15 northwest Missouri counties, along with four Kansas counties (2020 photo courtesy of Second Harvest’s Facebook page)

Second Harvest Community Food Bank CEO Chad Higdon testified Tuesday before a congressional subcommittee on emergency management. The food bank is headquartered in St. Joseph.

“We have seen a tremendous increase in need as a result of COVID-19,” Higdon testifies. “This past fiscal year, Second Harvest distributed 9.9 million pounds of food, up 31 percent from our record distribution the year prior.”

Higdon says that translates to about 8.25 million meals to needy families. He also says the food bank distributed about one million pounds of food in July.

“We understand that low-income families in general are vulnerable. One vehicle emergency or unexpected home repair can set a family back financially for months, and we know that low-income seniors often must choose between needed prescriptions and a nutritious meal,” Higdon says.

Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are praising the St. Joseph food bank for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Second Harvest serves 15 northwest Missouri counties: Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway and Worth. Towns include St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Bethany and Trenton.

It also serves four Kansas counties.

Second Harvest employs a staff of 24 full-time employees, with an annual operating budget of $3.7 million. Mr. Higdon testifies that prior to the pandemic, they were serving about 45,000 individuals. He says that number is now about 64,000, about 18 percent of the population in those counties.

He testifies about 26 percent of the children in that area are food insecure.

Higdon praises the members of the congressional subcommittee for their support of food banks. He testified at the request of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, who says Higdon’s testimony highlights how disasters impact vulnerable populations like the elderly.

Higdon testified from Congressman Graves’ St. Joseph office, because witnesses were encouraged to participate remotely due to the pandemic. He also submitted written testimony.

Second Harvest Community Food Bank’s website says its mission “is to provide nourishment and hope to the hungry in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas, while engaging and empowering the region in the fight to end hunger.”

Graves says northwest Missouri is still impacted from record 2019 flooding (AUDIO)

July 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents northern Missouri says it’s been about 500 days since the Flood of 2019 began, and that thousands of acres of the world’s most fertile farmland are still covered under water or silt and sand.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, visits with officials and residents in flooded Holt County in March 2019 (file photo courtesy of the congressman’s Facebook page)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, says two small farming towns northwest of St. Joseph have been especially impacted.

“Craig, Missouri being one of those,” Graves says. “Corning, Missouri another. Those are just two that are in Holt County.”

Holt County saw record flooding in 2019, which covered heavily-traveled Highway 159. Graves says some residents there have lost their farms and homes, multiple times.

The Missouri Farm Bureau says more than 1.4 million acres of farmland in the state went unplanted in 2019, due to flooding. One of the hardest-hit areas was in Holt County.

Graves, the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He says flood control and navigation should be the Corps’ top priority for the Missouri River.

He says 578-million tons of goods are shipped by barges annually.

Congressman Graves and Governor Mike Parson have both criticized the Corps. Parson and the governors of neighboring Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska have met with the Corps at least three times, to discuss what needs to be done differently in the future.

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

Graves tells Missourinet that some towns in his district are still behind temporarily-repaired levees.

“In many cases too, they’re building back to the exact same criteria that was there before,” says Graves.

Graves is optimistic that Congress will approve a major water resources bill before the November election. He says the bipartisan bill is aimed at helping communities impacted by repeated flooding.

“I think it will go very easily off the floor of the House. Again, it was unanimous out of committee, and then it will go over to the Senate and then we’ll work it out in conference,” Graves says.

He says the bill gives towns more help in planning and implementing flood control projects that limit the risk of future floods.

Graves, a dean in Missouri’s congressional delegation, represents 36 northern Missouri counties. He’s finishing his tenth term on Capitol Hill. His district includes Craig, St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Bethany, Macon, Kirksville and Hannibal.

Click here to listen to the full eight-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, which was recorded on July 17, 2020:

Missouri’s governor signs major foster care legislation into law (AUDIO)

July 13, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Bipartisan legislation that aims to modernize Missouri’s foster care system and provides Medicaid coverage to homeless children was signed into law Monday by the governor in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, testifies before a Missouri House committee in Jefferson City on January 28, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, who chairs the House Children and Families Committee, says it’s one of the most important bills she’s passed in her eight years in Jefferson City. She’s leaving the House in December, due to term limits.

“It’s going to help children all over the state of Missouri and especially it’s going to help foster children, who are the responsibility of all of us,” Solon says.

The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) says there were 14,043 foster care children in Missouri as of May.

Solon’s bill aims to reform Missouri’s foster care system, by requiring the creation of a response team that will review the practices of the state Children’s Division and any contractors. The Children’s Division, which is part of DSS, is responsible for the administration of child welfare services.

Chairwoman Solon tells Missourinet that the response team is a key component of her bill.

“Some of the shortcomings, and not just our foster care system here in Missouri but all across the country is a lack of transparency, a lack of sharing data and the lack of sharing information when it comes to foster children,” says Solon.

Under House Bill 1414, the new response team must meet for the first time before January 1, 2021.

Solon says her legislation improves transparency in the foster care system, and ensures that it remains focused on the best interests of each child.

Missouri’s homeless youth will be covered by Medicaid and will have access to a free birth certificate, under the 58-page bill.

“Those two provisions, believe it or not, were not as difficult as the third provision, which allows homeless youth to contract for mental health services,” Solon says.

The bill also ensures that foster parents have access to full medical records of a child placed with them, at the time of placement.

The Missouri House approved the legislation by a bipartisan 144-3 vote. Solon credits State Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, for getting the bill through the Senate, where it also had bipartisan support.

Craig Stevenson, the policy director of “Kids Win Missouri,” also praises the bill.

“The passage of this bill is the work of passionate policymakers and it will positively impact children of all ages,” Stevenson says, in a statement.

The new law will take effect on August 28.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, which was recorded on July 13, 2020:

Missouri GOP Congressman: COVID-19 outbreak is unlike anything we’ve ever seen (AUDIO)

March 30, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A northern Missouri congressman who’s a dean in the state’s congressional delegation says the $2 trillion economic stimulus package is aimed at helping America emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, represents 36 counties in northern Missouri (file photo courtesy of Congressman Graves’ office)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, voted for the bill on Friday. He says the bill provides $350 billion to the Small Business Administration (SBA), to supply main street businesses with the capital they need to keep the lights on and their workers on the payroll.

“And as long as they (main street businesses) continue to keep them on the payroll through July 2, then that becomes forgiven,” Graves says.

Governor Mike Parson has warned that thousands of Missourians will lose their jobs due to the outbreak. Congressman Graves says the stimulus boosts unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who’ve lost their jobs.

Graves represents 36 counties in northern Missouri. His sprawling district is larger than nine U.S. states, and includes St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Bethany, Kirksville and Hannibal.

Congressman Graves tells Missourinet that some hospitals in his district have struggled to get personal protective equipment (PPE), like masks. He notes the stimulus package also includes $117 billion in funding for hospitals and the Veterans Administration (VA) to care for patients and to protect health care employees battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Those of us who represent rural areas want to make sure that rural hospitals have every bit as much equipment as they need to combat this,” says Graves. “So far, they have not been overrun, but that could quickly, quickly change.”

Parson announced Monday afternoon that the state’s Strategic National Stockpile has now shipped 7,000 gloves and 3,300 cases of masks to hospitals, EMS and long-term care facilities.

State health officials say there are now 1,031 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Missouri, along with 13 deaths.

As for Graves, he says church groups and other organizations are grocery shopping for seniors in his district, to help the seniors limit their exposure during the COVID-19 outbreak. Graves’ district has a large elderly population.

“And that’s what rural Missouri is about and all of our rural areas. We take care of people and we take care of our neighbors and our family, and that’s very heartwarming,” Graves says.

Graves says the pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge for America, and that Americans have responded with unprecedented patriotism.

Graves and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) say the stimulus will also provide most American adults with $1,200 checks to help them make ends meet during the outbreak.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, which was recorded on March 30, 2020:

Northern Missouri Congressman Graves focusing on flooding and levees (AUDIO)

February 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents north Missouri on Capitol Hill warns that northwest Missouri is still suffering from flooding, and that there’s a lot of damage to infrastructure.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, tours the MFA Rail facility near northwest Missouri’s Hamilton on October 8, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Graves’ office)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, traveled from his Atchison County farm to Jefferson City this week to file for re-election to his 11th term. Graves is the longest-serving Republican in Missouri’s congressional delegation. He’s also a dean in the delegation, along with U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis. Both were elected to Congress in 2000.

Congressman Graves spoke to Missourinet after he filed, reiterating that flooding and transportation are his top two priorities. He says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and other House Democrats have focused too much attention on impeachment.

“We haven’t worked on flood legislation, we have not worked on prescription drugs, we have not got an infrastructure bill because they’ve been spending all of their time with impeachment, and that’s all they seem to want to do,” Graves says.

Graves, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, says there are flood-damaged roads and bridges in northwest Missouri that still need to be rebuilt.

He’s critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying they don’t listen.

“It’s a management situation, that’s what it comes down to is how they manage the Missouri River,” Graves says. “And we’ve got people’s lives on the line, and their livelihoods and the farms and their communities.”

Congressman Graves and Governor Mike Parson (R) have both criticized the Corps. Parson and the governors of neighboring Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska have met with the Corps of Engineers three times to discuss what needs to be done differently in the future.

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

As for Graves, he wants to see changes in Corps plans.

“It’s very frustrating that the Corps doesn’t seem to want to to change,” says Graves. “And it’s like dragging them, kicking and screaming.”

Graves says flood control should be the Corps’ top priority for the Missouri River. He also notes the severe flooding that happened in 2019 in north-central Missouri’s Brunswick, which is in his district.

Severe flooding from the Grand River caused a railroad bridge to wash out in Brunswick, and it also damaged other infrastructure in the town of about 800.

The Missouri Farm Bureau says more than 1.4 million acres of farmland in the state went unplanted in 2019, due to flooding.

The state Department of Agriculture (MDA), the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Farm Bureau, the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association and the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River will hold round table discussions Monday and Tuesday about flooding.

The meetings are designed to answer questions from farmers about 2019 flooding and to help them prepare for potential flooding this spring.

There will be two meetings on Monday in northwest Missouri: at 10 a.m. at the Atchison County Extension Building in Rock Port and at 2:30 p.m. at the East Hills Library in St. Joseph. Tuesday’s meetings will take place at 9 a.m. at the Knight and Rucker Banquet Hall in Brunswick and at 2:30 at the Corner restaurant in east-central Missouri’s Rhineland.

Graves was re-elected to his tenth term in 2018, defeating Democrat Henry Robert Martin with about 65 percent of the vote.

Four Democrats have already filed to challenge Graves. They are Kansas City’s Martin, Kansas City’s Ramona Farris, Canton’s Charles West and Platte City resident Gena Ross.

The sprawling sixth congressional district covers 36 northern Missouri counties, from the Missouri to the Mississippi River. It covers more square miles than nine U.S. states.

The district includes St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Bethany, Macon, Kirksville and Hannibal.

Click here to listen to the full three-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, which was recorded on February 25, 2020 at the Kirkpatrick Building in Jefferson City:

Repair of broken levee system in northwest Missouri hindered by weather

February 15, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

By BRENT MARTIN, St. Joseph Post

Repair of the broken levee system along the Missouri River has been slow going, as a wet fall and a cold winter has delayed assessment of the damage and construction work.

Emergency Management Specialist Mike Dulin with the Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it has been especially slow going north of St. Joseph.

“But in that Holt County area north of St. Joe it’s been a real challenge getting out there and just completing our damage assessments,” Dulin tells St. Joseph Post.

Dulin says even survey crews have had difficulty getting to some levees to assess the damage.

“With everything soggy and frozen the way it is it’s a real challenge to complete those damage assessments,” according to Dulin.

Floodwaters from a swollen Missouri River spilled over the river banks, cutting a path of destruction in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas truly breathtaking in scope.

“So, overall, we’re looking at a thousand miles of levee system on both sides of the Missouri River and some levees over in Kansas, too,” Dulin says. “I mean, it’s everything, from sod kill and erosion, scour, all the way to breaches being the worst case.”

The Kansas City District of the Corps is working on 67 repair projects, with damage estimated at $100 million. Floodwaters badly damaged 20 federal levees and took out many non-federal levees that are eligible to receive federal money for repairs. That doesn’t even count the damage done to the levee system north of Holt County, from Atchison County to Omaha, which likely will top the KC District total, according to Dulin.

The Corps of Engineers has been able to receive the amount of money needed to make repairs if the weather and conditions finally allow repair to proceed.

Dulin says it has been some time since the Corps faced such a daunting challenge.

“This is the largest levee rehab effort that we’ve seen since 1993,” Dulin says. “So, there’s a very real possibility this could take us up to two years to complete all repairs. So, obviously some repairs will be done much sooner than that, but to fix everything it could take us until the spring of 2021.”

National Weather Service warns Friday’s commute will be hazardous across much of Missouri (AUDIO)

January 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter weather advisory for northern, west-central, western and southwest Missouri.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has updated their forecast for January 17, 2020 (map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says Kansas City, St. Joseph, Sedalia, Columbia and Jefferson City will see snow and ice on Friday.

“What we’re looking at is a wintry mess out there and really it’s going to be a transition of precipitation types throughout this whole event,” Blair says.

He says the storm system will be moving from southwest to northeast Missouri.

The storm is expected to begin Friday morning in the 3-8 a.m. time frame. Blair tells Missourinet that Friday’s morning and evening commutes will be hazardous for Kansas City, Warrensburg, Columbia and Osage Beach.

“What we’re going to be seeing is snowfall starting out in these places Friday morning,” says Blair. “And as a little bit warmer weather moves into the area we’ll see that precipitation type change to a little bit of sleet and then eventually some freezing rain,” says Blair.

Springfield, Lebanon, Rolla and West Plains are also expected to see ice on Friday.

The Highway 63 corridor will see the heaviest amounts of ice, with up to a quarter-of-an-inch expected in Jefferson City, Columbia and Kirksville. Far western Missouri’s Butler and Nevada could also see up to a quarter-of-an-inch of ice.

The NWS says northwest Missouri will see the heaviest snowfall on Friday, with more than three inches expected in Maryville and Bethany.

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 January 16, 2020: