St. Louis Archives - Missourinet

Missouri lawmakers on both sides react to governor’s State of the State (AUDIO)

January 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor proposed about $1 million in funding for witness protection during Wednesday’s State of the State Address in Jefferson City, in an effort to battle increasing violence in urban cities.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Color Guard presents the flags before Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State Address on January 15, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson’s (R) plan is being praised by State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, who says witnesses fear retribution.

“I hear law enforcement say that very thing that there are people that they know that know who these individuals are that are committing these crimes but they’re scared to death to come forward because they don’t want to be the next victim,” Basye says.

Basye’s district includes Columbia, which had 12 shooting deaths in 2019. Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and Police Chief Geoff Jones were special guests of Governor Parson at the State of the State Address.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure and Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams were also special guests.

There were 194 murders in St. Louis and 148 in Kansas City in 2019.

Meantime, the governor received a standing ovation during his State of the State, when he announced that a new bridge will be built to replace the deteriorating Buck O’Neil Bridge in Kansas City. The bridge, which was built in 1956, crosses the Missouri River.

State Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, describes the project as huge.

“It’s a major, not just for the city of Kansas City but the entire region,” says Razer. “That’s a huge regional priority, it’s something that has to be done.”

About 44,000 vehicles use the bridge daily. Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna tells Missourinet that federal, state and local funding will pay for the $200 million project. McKenna expects construction of the new bridge to begin in about two years.

Director McKenna notes Parson’s 2019 bridge bonding program created a substitute funding mechanism, adding that Kansas City has committed about $60 million for the project. A grant is funding $25 million more.

Governor Parson also praises economic progress happening in Kansas City, noting it beat more than 130 cities around the nation to land two major divisions in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), bringing more than 500 new jobs to the region.

Representative Razer praises the bipartisan and bi-state cooperation between Missouri and Kansas that took place, noting the jobs will pay about $100,000 annually.

“Kansas City is excited to welcome them (USDA employees) to their new home, to Missouri, to Kansas City,” Razer says. “We’re excited to have these 500 new Kansas Citians coming to Missouri.”

USDA is relocating its Economic Research Service (ERS) and its National Institute of Food and Agriculture Policy (NIFA) agencies to Pennsylvania Avenue in Kansas City.

State Reps. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, and Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, joined news director Brian Hauswirth live on Missourinet on January 15, 2020. They reacted to Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State Address and discussed other key legislative issues. Click here to listen to the first part of the interview:

Click here to listen to the second part of the interview:

Transportation, infrastructure and violence will be themes in Missouri governor’s State of the State (AUDIO)

January 15, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor says infrastructure and workforce development will be two of his main themes during Wednesday afternoon’s State of the State Address in Jefferson City. The speech will begin at about 3.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson waves to state lawmakers and the audience during his State of the State Address on January 16, 2019, as House Speaker Elijah Haahr (left) and Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe applaud (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson (R) says the state is on the right track.

“We’re going to talk about infrastructure, we’re going to talk about transportation, we’re going to talk about the state of the state, the economy of our state, why things are moving forward,” Parson says.

The governor will also address education, saying he wants to make sure high school students are ready for tomorrow’s workforce.

Rural health care will also be a theme, according to Governor Parson.

Increasing violence in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia will also be a topic during State of the State. In 2019, there were 194 murders in St. Louis and 148 homicides in Kansas City.

“You’ll see me talk about some of the violence in some of the urban cities, we’ve got to address that issue,” says Parson. “So I think there will be some discussion on that.”

St. Louis Police testified before the House Judiciary Committee in Jefferson City on Tuesday, saying there were 194 murders, 2,600 shootings and 349 carjackings in St. Louis in 2019.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson testified at Tuesday’s hearing, in support of legislation that would allow St. Louis City police officers to live outside the city. Krewson’s spokesman, Jacob Long, tells Missourinet that Mayor Krewson will join Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and Springfield Mayor Ken McClure in a bipartisan fashion to attend the State of the State.

Long notes this is a continuation of ongoing meetings the four mayors have had with the governor’s office relating to public safety and violent crime.

Addressing the growing violence is also a top priority for House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and their respective caucuses.

Speaker Haahr and Leader Quade addressed the issue with Capitol reporters during the opening day of session. Both are focused on witness protection.

Haahr and Quade both represent Springfield, and Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams tells Missourinet he’ll attend the State of the State Address with Mayor McClure.

The State of the State Address is an opportunity for the governor to outline his 2020 legislative priorities. It will be delivered in the House chamber, before a joint session of the Legislature.

Missourinet will have live coverage of State of the State, starting Wednesday at 3. We’ll also have live interviews with state lawmakers in both parties, after the address. News director Brian Hauswirth will anchor our coverage.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R), which was recorded on January 7, 2020 at the Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association’s conference in Columbia:

Missouri House GOP and Democratic leaders focused on urban violence

January 9, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Addressing the increasing violence in St. Louis and Kansas City is a priority for Missouri House Republicans and Democrats during the 2020 session, which began Wednesday in Jefferson City.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Color Guard presents the flags to start the 2020 session in the Missouri House on January 8, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, tells Capitol reporters that the cities need support for witness protection.

“When you have a city like the size of St. Louis facing almost 200 homicides a year, both the police force is sort of overwhelmed and their investigatory unit is sort of overwhelmed,” Haahr says.

There were 194 murders in St. Louis in 2019, along with 148 homicides in Kansas City.

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

As for House Democrats, they are outnumbered this year in the Missouri House 114-48, with one vacancy. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is also focused on increased support for witness protection. But she also tried to draw a distinction between the two parties, during her opening day press conference.

“We will not accept that children dying from gun violence on a weekly basis is the price that we pay for freedom,” says Quade. “And we will demand that common sense be restored to Missouri law to make it harder for the bad guy with the gun to get the gun in the first place.”

At least 13 children were killed in St. Louis City shootings in 2019.

Quade says House Democrats want to punish crime, not poverty.

The Missouri Senate Interim Committee on Public Safety is expected to come up with recommendations to address gun violence, for the 2020 session. The committee is chaired by State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff.

Speaker Haahr and Leader Quade held back-to-back press conferences at the Statehouse, on opening day.

Meantime, the Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming released its report in December. The committee views the legalization of sports betting as a “legitimate opportunity to increase state revenues” for education and other programs.

18 states will have implemented sports wagering by this year.

Speaker Haahr tells Missourinet there’s a lot of discussion about sports wagering legislation at the Capitol.

“I don’t think any of that discussion particularly falls along party lines,” Haahr says. “I think it sort of cuts across both caucuses and so, we’ll consider those bills as they are filed.”

The House Special Interim Committee on Gaming’s report concluded that Missouri would likely lose revenue if it doesn’t remain competitive with other states.

Major League Baseball (MLB) representative Jeremy Kudon traveled to Jefferson City in November to testify before the gaming committee. He testifies that Missourians are expected to wager $5.5 billion annually on sports, if it’s legalized.

The House has adjourned for the week, and they’ll return to the Capitol on Monday. Next week’s schedule will be light, except for Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State Address on Wednesday.

Speaker Haahr says about 800 House bills have been filed, adding that about 100 will be referred to committee this week. He expects House floor debate to begin during the week of January 20.

HUD Secretary Carson to keynote Thursday breakfast in Jefferson City

January 8, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The nation’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will deliver the keynote address Thursday morning in Jefferson City at the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast.

North Sarah Apartment resident Lonnie Nunn (left) welcomes U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson into her home in St. Louis on March 29, 2019 (file photo by Bill Greenblatt UPI)

Former presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson is the nation’s 17th HUD Secretary.

Hundreds of people are expected to pack the Capitol Plaza Hotel near the Missouri Capitol for the breakfast, which is an annual interfaith event for Missouri lawmakers and citizens.

Governor Mike Parson (R) will speak at the breakfast, and Secretary Carson will deliver the keynote. State lawmakers from both political parties attend the breakfast, which is from 7:30 to 9.

Event organizers say the purpose of the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast is to seek God’s guidance for state and legislative leaders at the start of the legislative session.

Missouri’s 2020 session began Wednesday in Jefferson City.

Secretary Carson was in Missouri in March 2019, to speak in St. Louis about the federal “Opportunity Zones” program. The program offers capital gains tax relief to those who invest in economically-depressed areas.

Dr. Carson spoke that day at the North Sarah Apartments, a HUD-supported housing complex that’s located in an opportunity zone.

Stolen firearm legislation aimed at addressing violent crime in Missouri (AUDIO)

January 5, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within 72 hours has been filed by a newly-elected Missouri lawmaker.

State Representative-Elect Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis (December 3, 2019 photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at Missouri House Communications)

State Representative-Elect Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, who will be sworn-in Wednesday in Jefferson City, tells Missourinet there’s a huge crime problem across Missouri.

“It really doesn’t matter if it’s in the city of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City or Columbia, crime is like rampant all across our state,” Aldridge says.

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

House Bill 1824 is a one-page bill. Under the bill, failure to report the loss or theft of a firearm within the 72-hour window would be an infraction for the first two violations, with fines up to $100 and $1,000, respectively. A third offense would be a misdemeanor with a possible six-month county jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.

Representative-Elect Aldridge describes his proposal as a preventative effort to fight crime.

“This past summer in St. Louis we’ve seen young kids from the age of 25 and down die every other day and then we continue to ask, what can we do?” says Aldridge.

At least 13 children were killed in St. Louis City shootings in 2019. There were 194 murders in St. Louis in 2019, and there have already been at least eight homicides there in the new year.

There were 148 homicides in Kansas City last year.

The Missouri Senate Interim Committee on Public Safety held a six-hour hearing at the Statehouse in November, and they’re expected to come up with recommendations to address gun violence for the upcoming session.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, who serves on that committee, describes the increasing gun violence as a public health crisis. She says the violence is plaguing inner cities and outstate.

Aldridge says some will view his legislation as an attack on the Second Amendment. Aldridge, a gun owner, tells Missourinet he believes his bill strengthens the Second Amendment.

“And if I would have lost my gun or if someone stole my gun I think it’s very important as a gun owner to make sure that you work with local law enforcement, who already have a tough job as it is,” Aldridge says.

He says some of the guns are being stolen during vehicle break-ins on Washington Avenue in St. Louis, which is in his district.

Aldridge and five other newly-elected state representatives will be sworn-in Wednesday at noon when the 2020 session begins. Republicans will control the Missouri House 114-48, with one vacancy.

Aldridge says he looks forward to working with his GOP colleagues, and having a conversation with them about the importance of his stolen firearm bill.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Representative-Elect Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, which was recorded on December 27, 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.

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:

Bipartisan efforts: Clay and Blunt celebrate NGA groundbreaking (AUDIO)

November 26, 2019 By Ashley Byrd

Construction is officially underway on a new national geo-intelligence facility in north St. Louis. The $1.7 billion project, known as N2W relocates the National Geospatial-Intelligence agency from west of downtown St. Louis.

Missouri First District Congressman Lacy Clay welcomed the crowd of national, state and local dignitaries at the Nov. 11 groundbreaking:

“Welcome to a historic day at the corner of Jefferson and Cass!” he exclaimed, alluding to a blighted area of town that will be the hub of this headquarters.

In this speech, Clay thanked “his good friend Sen. Roy Blunt…thank you so much for your friendship and your leadership.”

Clay told what he calls “the amazing story of how St. Louis won the competition for the new NGA West headquarters, which will be the largest single federal government investment in St. Louis history.”

Listen to Lacy Clay speech (8:17)

Sen. Blunt also spoke of working closely with city leaders and former Mayor Francis Slay as he enthusiastically listed the immediate economic benefits to an area that was, according to a local ward leader, “going more and more downhill.”

Listen to Blunt’s speech (6:27)

Blunt says he can envision the area 10 years from now, as support businesses move in and retail grows to meet the demands of thousands of employees and visitors.

“This is a good day to capture in your mind where we are today and where I fully believe we’ll be then. It’s a great day for the intelligence, defense, the geospatial, the overhead architecture defense of the country but its a great day for St. Louis, a great day for jobs, it’s a great day for this community,” he said at the groundbreaking.

The City of St. Louis officially transferred the 97 acres of land for the new NGA campus to the U.S. Air Force in December 2018, displacing residents. There have been dissenters, but city and neighborhood leaders welcome the facility as an economic boost to a blighted area. (photo Ashley Byrd)

NGA sign and site in background

69 alleged gang members in St. Louis region arrested; 16 arrests on murder-related warrants

November 14, 2019 By Missourinet Contributor

(This story is written by Missourinet St. Louis contributor Jill Enders)

ST. LOUIS- Nearly 200 fugitives wanted for violent offenses are off the streets of the St. Louis area tonight, as a result of a massive federal special operation. 16 of the arrests are on murder-related warrants.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen and U.S. Marshal John Jordan brief reporters about “Operation Triple Beam” on November 14, 2019 at the Eagleton Courthouse in downtown St. Louis (Jill Enders photo)

During a Thursday morning press conference at the Thomas Eagleton Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, federal prosecutors announced that 162 fugitives have been arrested in the St. Louis region as part of “Operation Triple Beam.” State and local law enforcement officers joined U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen at the press conference.

“This joint operation had the added effect of strengthening the relationship among our local, state and federal law enforcement counterparts,” U.S. Marshal of Missouri’s Eastern District John Jordan tells reporters. “The U.S. Marshals provided multiple resources to include manpower, funds and essential equipment to assist local, state and federal partners in this operation.”

Jordan emphasizes that 16 of the St. Louis-area arrests were connected to homicides. 69 suspected gang members have been arrested. Jordan also says 40 firearms and three vehicles have been seized, and nearly ten pounds of illegal drugs have been confiscated.

The special operation spanned three months.

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.

New Missouri Senate committee studying gun violence to hold first hearing Monday (AUDIO)

October 30, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A key Democratic state senator is pleased that Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, has formed an interim committee to study gun violence, saying she hopes the committee will come up with a blueprint to reduce the violence.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, briefs Capitol reporters in January 2018 (file photo courtesy of Missouri Senate photographer Harrison Sweazea)

The committee’s first hearing is Monday in Jefferson City.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, called on Pro Tem Schatz to create the committee, back in September. Nasheed describes the gun violence in her hometown as an epidemic.

“I mean when we have children dying on the street by way of AK 47’s and AR-15’s, yeah this is a massive, massive crisis,” Nasheed says.

She also says it’s a public health crisis.

“And I’m just happy that the senators are ready to roll up their sleeves and begin to look at best practices in terms of legislation so that we can help reduce the violence that’s plaguing the inner cities as well as outstate,” says Nasheed.

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.

At least 13 children have been killed in St. Louis city shootings in 2019, and Kansas City Police say there have been 122 homicides there this year. In central Missouri’s Columbia, there were five murders during the month of September.

The Senate Interim Committee on Public Safety is chaired by State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, and State Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, is the vice-chair. Republicans have a 4-3 majority on the committee, which Nasheed serves on.

Senator Nasheed tells Missourinet the committee’s first hearing is Monday morning at 10 at the Missouri Capitol, where they’ll hear from expert witnesses in areas like public safety and social work.

She has also called for increased protection for crime witnesses, saying they are fearful for their safety. Governor Mike Parson (R) has also expressed that concern.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, which was recorded on October 30, 2019: