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Adjutant General welcomes last troops from Iraq

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The last Missouri National Guard members have returned to the state as part of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Iraq.

Major General Stephen Danner says the 23 members of the 139th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard are home just in time to be with their families for Christmas. Those soldiers were providing security at Bagdad International Airport.

Missouri's Adjutant General, Major General Stephen Danner extends holiday greetings to Missourians from the Missouri National Guard. Photo courtesy, Missouri National Guard.

The 139th is based in St. Joseph.

Danner says for a military man or woman, being home for the holidays is tremendous. “When you’re out in the field you’ve got your buddies with you that you celebrate the holidays with, but we all know that no matter how good our friends are, our families are our blood. You always want to be home with your family and especially with your kids. That’s something you just can’t replace and you can’t live over again.”

Had it not been for this withdrawal, the General says it is unclear how long the Guard might have had a presence in Iraq. The 139th was on a 6 month deployment. Danner says, “I know that at one point they thought that the Iraqi government would ask them to stay on maybe another couple of years. But, obviously that did not happen and I know these airmen, being the last Missourians out of Iraq, will be glad to be home this week.”

Though the last Missouri National Guard personnel have left Iraq, General Danner points out there are many still deployed across the globe. That includes, “…a medical unit and an administrative unit in Egypt, right now in the Sanai with U.N. forces, we had the 138th infantry in Japan not too long ago, we’ve had Air Guard in Thailand, we’ve been in Africa with the Army Guard and with the Air Guard went down to Chile in their earthquake earlier this year, and we also have Air and Army Guard in Central America.”

The general notes, the Guard has remained on State Emergency Duty since April 2, and he expects to remain on that status through March and perhaps longer. “We’ve had over 2,500 Army and Air Guardsmen activated for our state mission.”

Sales tax revenue down following Chiefs training camp

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Buchanan County officials were hoping for a generous spike in sales tax revenues this past summer with the Kansas City Chiefs training camp setting up shop in St. Joseph, but according to the St. Joseph News-Press, the total are some $50,000 below expectations. The sales tax numbers that came out showed revenues at $300,030, well below the $351,459 the county budgeted for.

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Missouri pesticide company executive pleads guilty

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A top executive with a Missouri pesticide company has pleaded guilty to violating a federal pesticides law.

HPI Products Vice President Hans Nielsen made his plea in federal court in Kansas City. HPI is based in KC. Nielson confessed to storing HPI products in various warehouses in St. Joseph without notifying state and federal regulatory agencies. The two charges are misdemeanor violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. Federal prosecutors also charge HPI with failing to maintain records of the storage.

HPI President William Garvey earlier pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act for dumping pesticide waste into St. Joseph city sewers.

Arts Council recognizers state leaders at the Capitol

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The Missouri Arts Council honored cities and individuals at the Capitol today.

Missouri’s First Lady Georganne Nixon, legislators, Economic Development Director Linda Martinez, artists and art advocates gathered to recognize those furthering the arts in Missouri.

Missouri Arts Council chairwoman Sharon Beshore says during a faltering economic climate, the arts remain a steady revenue-driving attraction for the state.

She says arts in Missouri are funded in part through the non-resident athletes’ and entertainers’ income tax and credits legislators for securing funding that has moved the state up on a list put out by the National Assembly of State Art Agencies.

Missouri was 49th on that list just five years ago and now is No. 9 in the U.S.

The Kansas City Art Insitute was recognized for its contributions to education; The city of Springfield was honored for drawing on the arts to promote economic growth and tourism; and the Allied Arts Council of St. Joseph received an award for its dedication to bringing the arts and people together.

Visit missouriartscouncil.org  for more.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Senator Shoemyer opposes tax credits for Chiefs

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It was a unanimous vote that saw the Missouri Development Finance Board approve the Kansas City Chiefs’ request for $25-million in tax credits. But at least one member of the General Assembly thinks it’s a bad decision.

Senator Wes Shoemyer Senator Wes Shoemyer (D-Clarence), who showed up at the Board meeting to observe the proceedings, took advantage of an opportunity to voice his opposition. Shoemyer says that while granting the tax credits to the Chiefs might turn out to be a good economic deal, it raises the ire of many people who will see this as another government giveaway.

He compares it to the the bailouts we’re seeing in Washington, adding it is wrong to hand out incentives of this kind during tough economic times.

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)

State board approves $25-million in tax credits for KC Chiefs

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The Missouri Development Finance Board has voted unanimously – 10-0 – to approve a request from the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority for $25-million in tax credits. The credits are separate from the $50-million in tax credits issued in 2006.

MDFD Chairman Peter Kinder and Executive Director Robert Miserez The team and the Sports Complex Authority claim they will use the credits for renovations to the Truman Sports Complex and the surrounding area. Bill Newman, Senior Vice President of Administration for the Chiefs, says a portion of the credits would be sold to come up with $10-million to be applied toward the construction of a $13.45-million indoor events and football training facility on the campus of Missouri Western State University in in St. Joseph. The Chiefs would maintain their training camp in St. Joseph for a minimum of ten years.

Having been approved by the Board, this project does not need legislative approval. It only requires the approval of the Director of Economic Development, the Director of Revenue, and the Commissioner of the Office of Administration.

St. Joseph couple pleads guilty in mortgage fraud scheme

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A married couple from St. Joseph has pleaded guilty in federal court to identity theft and mortgage fraud totaling $184,000. Tyrone and Stephanie Davis, co-owners of Davis Custom Homes in St. Joseph, have admitted to their involvement in a fraud scheme that used stolen identities to obtain loans on several residential properties.

Tyrone Davis has admitted that, from March 1 to November 1, 2006, he participated in a conspiracy to defraud banks and mortgage lenders by receiving fraudulent loans, with conspirators preparing and submitting fraudulent bank loan or mortgage loan applications containing false information and forged signatures in order to receive bank or mortgage loans.

Stephanie Davis pleaded guilty to the interstate transportation of stolen property, related to the wire transfer of $166,000 obtained through mortgage fraud.

"Bodies Revealed" Exhibit Under Fire

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The Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese says church school field trips should not be taken to the "’Bodies Revealed" exhibit that opens Friday in Kansas City. The statement from the Diocese says Catholic moral teaching considers the person as a unity of soul and body and that respect for human dignity extends to the body even after the soul has left it.

The exhibit uses specimens of people who died of natural causes and donated their bodies to science. The exhibit will be at Kansas City’s Union Station. Organizers of the exhibit say it has great educational value that will be valuable to students of all faiths.

 

Door-to-Door Salesman Won’t Take "No" For an Answer

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A persistent door-to-door magazine subscription salesman has been arrested in St. Joseph, charged with stabbing a man who told him, twice, that he didn’t want to buy any subscriptions.

Police say the salesman left the house after the first refusal but returned 15 minutes later and stabbed the man at the house in the arm when his sales pitch was rejected a second time.

 

A Clear, Mild Christmas Day for Missouri

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Clear, mild weather is expected this Christmas Day. The National Weather Service reports high pressure stretching from the lower Mississippi Valley to the eastern United States is providing clear and tranquil weather.

Highs today are expected to hover between the mid-40s to the lower 50s in the St. Louis area. The National Weather Service expects temperatures in northern Missouri to be in the 30s, with the temperatures rising into the 40s in central Missouri. The Kansas City area should see temperatures near 50. Christmas Day in the Ozarks, including Springfield, is expected to bring temperatures in the mid-50s.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reports all roads are clear today, a stark contrast to this past weekend. The heavy snowstorm that hit northwest Missouri shut down Interstate 29 from Dearborn to the Iowa state line. The State Highway Patrol counted between 20 to 40 vehicles in a pile up at St. Joseph on I-29 and said whiteout conditions made it difficult to clear the interstate.

The Weather Service predicts nothing like that today and predicts the next winter storm will enter Missouri Wednesday evening. It is expected to be mild. Forecasters expect little snow accumulation and say that the precipitation could come in the form of rain if temperatures hold. A wary eye is being kept on a system that could enter the state prior to this weekend. This strong winter weather system brings with it a better chance of accumulation. The snow is expected to affect far northwest Missouri the most.