St. Louis Archives - Missourinet

Parson: Distributing COVID vaccines to as many Missouri pharmacies as possible will expand accessibility

March 5, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor announced on Thursday that pharmacies across the state will soon be receiving prioritized shipments of the COVID vaccine. Governor Mike Parson tells Capitol reporters in Jefferson City that it’s part of a new partnership with the Missouri Pharmacy Association.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson visits a vaccination clinic at Christian Hospital Northeast near Florissant on March 4, 2021 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

“Starting next week, 15 percent of our weekly state allocation will be distributed to selected pharmacies across the state,” Parson says.

The governor describes local pharmacies as a trusted health care resource for many Missourians.

“161 pharmacies have been identified in 84 counties and were selected based on ability, location and population,” says Parson.

Missouri has 114 counties, as well as St. Louis City. Pharmacy locations include St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Jefferson City, as well as numerous rural Missouri towns. They include Sedalia, Clinton, Warrensburg, Warrenton, Sullivan, Moberly, Mexico, Sikeston, Portageville, Malden, Kennett, Chillicothe, St. Joseph, Nevada and Joplin. You can find the entire nine-page pharmacy list here.

Governor Parson says the pharmacies have the ability to administer 200 initial doses of COVID vaccines per week.

Meantime, the governor says mass vaccination teams will soon start transitioning operations to include a larger presence in both St. Louis and Kansas City.

“Vaccine interest is often highest in the urban populations,” Parson says. “So starting next week, we will begin transitioning mass vaccination teams to accommodate more events in Region A, which is the Kansas City region, and Region C, in the St. Louis region.”

The governor envisions having the Missouri National Guard in the St. Louis and Kansas City metro areas for future two-day vaccination events, where the Guard would administer about 6,000 doses per day and 12,000 doses in two days.

Governor Parson says the St. Louis and Kansas City regions have been receiving the same share of the COVID vaccine as rural areas have. He also continues to praise the work of the Missouri National Guard at targeted vaccination clinics in the two metro areas.

The governor visited a targeted vaccination clinic Thursday at Cambridge Senior Living in St. Louis. The targeted vaccination teams serve vulnerable populations in communities with limited access to health care. He also visited a vaccination clinic held at Christian Hospital Northeast, near the St. Louis suburb of Florissant.

Governor Parson says COVID activity in the state has declined for the seventh straight week, adding that the Show-Me State is second in the nation for average daily cases. Missouri vaccinators have now administered about 1.4 million COVID vaccinations, which includes the first and second shot.

15 percent of Missouri’s population has now received at least one shot, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) COVID-19 dashboard.

Missouri has now completed 68 mass vaccination clinics

February 25, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The governor says more than 66,000 Missourians have received an initial COVID vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic.

The Missouri National Guard, the state Department of Health and Senior Services and Pettis County health officials assist residents at a mass vaccination clinic in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia on February 23, 2021 (photo courtesy of the State Emergency Management Agency)

Governor Mike Parson tells Capitol reporters that 68 mass vaccination clinics have been completed around the state. Another eight are scheduled for Friday. They will take place in Jefferson City, Springfield, in northern Missouri’s Chillicothe and Hannibal, in west-central Missouri’s Clinton, in southern Missouri’s Rolla and West Plains and in the Bootheel town of Caruthersville.

The mass vaccination clinics are operated by the Missouri National Guard, the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and by local health officials.

The governor has also announced that targeted teams in St. Louis and Kansas City have completed another 24 vaccine clinics, with more planned in the coming weeks. The targeted teams serve vulnerable populations in areas with limited access to health care.

During Thursday’s briefing in Jefferson City, Governor Parson also touted improving numbers for COVID. He says CDC data shows Missouri now ranks second lowest in the nation for average daily COVID cases per 100,000 residents, over the past week.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says Missouri vaccinators have now administered more than 1.1 million COVID shots, which includes first and second doses. That’s about 12 percent of Missouri’s population. DHSS says 373,082 have received both shots.

Snow and plummeting temperatures coming to much of Missouri Saturday

February 5, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) is discouraging travel Saturday for some residents across northern and mid-Missouri. The NWS says the heaviest snowfall will be in northwest Missouri, where towns like St. Joseph and Bethany are expected to see four to five inches of snow.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill expects snow to begin falling in northwest Missouri on Saturday morning between 7 and 9 (February 5, 2021 graphic courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

The heaviest snow will include I-29 near the Missouri-Iowa border.

Northern Missouri’s Chillicothe, Marshall and Kirksville will see two to four inches, and the snow total projections have increased for central Missouri. Columbia and Jefferson City are now expected to receive two to three inches of snow, with the snow starting to fall there at about 11 am Saturday. Light snow is expected to start falling in the St. Louis area at about 2 on Saturday afternoon.

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Brett Williams says visibility will be reduced in parts of northern and mid-Missouri.

Residents should consider filling up their vehicle’s gas tank tonight if possible, ahead of the winter weather.

Missourians will also need to bundle up and wear extra layers of clothing. The NWS in Kansas City says temperatures in the Kansas City metro will fall below freezing tonight and will likely stay below freezing for the next ten days.

Open house set for $240 million I-70 bridge project in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport; bridge connects nation (AUDIO)

January 25, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

State transportation officials will hold a virtual open house Tuesday evening to outline details of the massive $240 million project to replace the aging I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport.

The current I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport was built in 1960. It’s in poor condition, according to MoDOT (2020 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Lissie Wade)

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Rocheport bridge project director Brandi Baldwin says the virtual presentations will take place Tuesday from 5 to 6:30, and will be repeated every 20 minutes.

“What we plan to do is share with the public a series of slides, giving an overview of the project. And we’ll play that presentation in a loop,” Baldwin says.

You can find a link to Tuesday’s virtual open house here, on the MoDOT website.

Missouri has received an $81 million federal grant to replace the bridge, which was built in 1960. The federal grant was also tied-in to a related project to build one-point-two miles of truck climbing lanes on I-70 at east-central Missouri’s Mineola Hill. The Mineola Hill project, which is happening in Montgomery County, continues to progress. There are cranes on-site, along with equipment.

The deteriorating I-70 bridge in Rocheport is listed in poor condition, by MoDOT. The agency describes the bridge as “the lynchpin of America,” carrying more than 12-million vehicles annually. That includes 3.6 million trucks.

Baldwin expects the project to be done by the end of 2024.

“We will be awarding the project this summer at our July (State Highway) commission meeting, so we are working towards that,” says Baldwin.

The Rocheport bridge connects Boone and Cooper counties and also connects St. Louis and Kansas City. MoDOT also notes it connects a majority of the nation. Within 48 hours, trucks carrying goods to all 48 lower states will have crossed the Rocheport bridge, according to MoDOT.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Rocheport bridge project director Brandi Baldwin, which was recorded on January 22, 2021:

U.S. Marshals: three southeast Missouri jail escapees should be considered dangerous

January 18, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The U.S. Marshals are now leading the search for three jail escapees in southeast Missouri’s Iron County, and the Marshals emphasize the three should be considered dangerous. A unified command post has been established at the Iron County Courthouse in Ironton.

Missourinet Cape Girardeau television partner KFVS reports authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information on the escapees: Tracy L. Brown, Dwight Abernathie and Samuel Gillam. The Marshals say all three were jailed on local charges. Gillam was jailed on a kidnapping charge, while Abernathie was jailed for assault and sodomy. Brown was in jail for a burglary charge.

U.S. Marshals, Iron County Sheriff’s deputies, Ironton Police and others have set up a command post at the Iron County Courthouse in Ironton (January 16, 2021 photo courtesy of Ironton Police Facebook page)

U.S. Marshals say the three moved a block wall to escape. Authorities are urging residents to lock their doors and to remain vigilant.

Marshals say the inmates escaped at about 4:30 on Saturday morning, and the Iron County Sheriff requested assistance from the Marshals at about 1 p.m. Saturday. The Marshals have sent personnel from Cape Girardeau and St. Louis to the area.

U.S. Marshals and Iron County Sheriff’s deputies are being assisted by Ironton Police, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Pilot Knob Police and by the U.S. Forest Service, Missouri State park rangers and the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The search area includes the heavily-wooded Mark Twain National Forest.

St. Louis Democratic legislator wants Missouri House to investigate Giuliani

January 13, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A St. Louis Democratic state lawmaker is calling on the Missouri House to investigate whether former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani committed perjury at a heated December House committee hearing in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on January 12, 2021 (photo courtesy of Benjamin Peters at House Communications)

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, says 20 of his Democratic colleagues have joined in his call.

Republicans control the Missouri House 114-47, and Representative Merideth says he’s sent a letter to House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, requesting an investigation.

On December 14, Giuliani testified via zoom before the House Special Committee on Government Oversight in Jefferson City. Merideth notes Missouri House rules require that witnesses testifying before House committees sign an affidavit that their testimony, to the best of their knowledge, is true on penalty of perjury.

Mayor Giuliani and Representative Merideth clashed multiples times during the December hearing, when Giuliani alleged fraud in both Pennsylvania and Georgia in November’s presidential election.

Both accused each other of being dangerous, and spoke over each other multiple times. The hearing got so heated that then-Committee Chairman Robert Ross, R-Yukon, had to bang the gavel three times, to restore order.

Former Mayor Giuliani, who led the Trump campaign’s post-election legal challenges, described Philadelphia that night as a “crooked Democratic machine,” and alleged fraud in Georgia as well.

“I think we’re right to be upset about this action and about your spreading of misinformation and lies that are inflaming things across our country, at a time when we need to move on and accept the results of an election. Thank you,” Merideth told Giuliani that night.

“Obviously, you have no interest in the truth. All you have an interest in is lecturing me,” Giuliani responded.

“I have no interest in more and more lies from you,” Merideth said. “I am tired of your lies. America is tired of your lies, and they are dangerous, sir. They are dangerous.”

“You are very dangerous, because you’re covering up a massive election fraud,” Giuliani responded.

The two continued to speak over each other, until Chairman Ross hit the gavel multiple times.

Giuliani testified that night that GOP inspectors were not allowed proper access to view absentee ballots being counted in Pennsylvania.

Representative Merideth says he’s also sent a letter to the New York State Bar Association.

Senator Nasheed reflects on 14 years at the Missouri Capitol; emphasizes importance of bipartisanship (AUDIO)

January 4, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who served for 14 years in Jefferson City is most proud of her ability to build relationships.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, served all 14 years in the minority party. Her final day in the Senate was New Year’s Eve. She says relationships are the key that unlock the doors to success for elected officials.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on January 28, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

“I knew going into this that the Republicans controlled the House, the Senate and the Governor’s Mansion when I got there (2007), that I had to find that middle course and work across party lines,” Nasheed says.

Nasheed was first elected to the Missouri House in 2006 and served three terms. She was then elected to the Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2016.

She says some of her closest friends to this day are Republicans she met, while serving in the Legislature. Nasheed says bipartisanship is critical for Missouri and the nation.

Education was one of her top priorities. Nasheed says one of her biggest successes happened in 2008, when the Legislature approved her bill ensuring the benefits of the A+ scholarship program for high school students in Missouri’s unaccredited school districts.

“So I was able to pass a piece of legislation in the House that basically stated that if you meet all the requirements, even though you’re in an unaccredited school district, you should still be able to apply for the A-plus scholarship,” says Nasheed.

Because of the bipartisan bill, thousands of students became eligible for free tuition to two-year Missouri colleges and technical schools.

Senator Nasheed is also proud of her legislation that authorized historically black Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis to offer graduate programs for the first time since its founding in 1857.

Nasheed frequently served on Senate-House budget conference committees, and was outspoken about the need for more Harris-Stowe funding. She tells Missourinet that to this day, Harris-Stowe is not receiving its fair share of higher education funds.

Another issue Senator Nasheed has emphasized is the importance of protecting crime victims, and St. Louis’ increasing murder rate.

St. Louis’ homicide rate in 2020 was its highest in 50 years, with 262 murders. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reported this weekend that the 2020 homicide rate in St. Louis is 30 percent higher than the city has seen in the past 50 years.

Nasheed passed legislation that allows Missouri prosecutors to redact information about crime witnesses.

“Because I’m a firm believer that if we don’t solve the murders, then individuals will be emboldened. And the only way that we can solve the murders is to protect witnesses,” Nasheed says.

There have been witnesses to St. Louis homicides in recent years who were murdered, before they could testify at trial. That includes the highly-publicized “St. Louis murder mom” conspiracy case.

As for disappointments during her 14 years, Senator Nasheed says she wanted to see Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) expanded. While she pushed for expansion, it didn’t happen.

One thing she won’t miss is standing up for hours on the Senate floor in Jefferson City, filibustering. Senator Nasheed says it’s bad on the knees. She describes filibustering as a negotiation tactic to make bills less harmful.

Senator Nasheed says she voted her district.

As for her future, Nasheed says she plans to continue to serve her neighbors and residents in her district, as a private citizen.

Nasheed will be replaced in the Missouri Senate by State Rep. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, this week.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, which was recorded on December 31, 2020:

Missouri lawmaker wants extension of COVID election protocols; absentee voting for St. Louis spring elections begins Jan. 19 (AUDIO)

December 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A state lawmaker who represents St. Louis City wants Missouri’s governor to sign an executive order extending the 2020 COVID-19 precautions to the spring municipal elections.

State Rep. Donna Baringer, D-St. Louis, tells Missourinet that Governor Mike Parson’s (R) office has told her that Parson will not sign an executive order, citing alleged fraud in other states in 2020. She’s still hopeful it will happen.

State Rep. Donna Baringer, D-St. Louis, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 24, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missourinet has reached out to the governor’s office, in an attempt to confirm what Baringer was told. We have not heard back yet.

Baringer notes the bipartisan 2020 law from State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, allowed those in COVID at-risk categories to vote absentee. Everyone else could vote by mail, with notarization.

“That worked really well, at least it did in my district,” Baringer says. “I had an 81 percent turnout in the November election.”

Baringer’s district includes the Bevo and Lindendwood Park neighborhoods in St. Louis City.

She says absentee voting for St. Louis’ municipal elections begins January 19, and notes the mayor’s race there is expected to draw a strong voter turnout.

Baringer says the pandemic will extend into the spring elections, and she doesn’t want to see polling places turn into a superspreader event.

“So my letter specifically asks the governor if he would do an executive order to extend the sunset on the legislation that passed overwhelmingly by the state Legislature,” says Baringer.

The Missouri House approved the Shaul bill 121-24 in May, and the governor signed it into law. It covered the August and November elections, and Baringer says the bill saved lives and preserved the integrity of the vote.

Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City on January 6. Absentee voting for the St. Louis spring elections will begin less than two weeks later.

“And that’s why it would be near impossible to get it through the state Legislature, when we have 52 new incoming freshmen (in the Missouri House) that won’t have any background or understanding of what we’re trying to do,” Baringer says.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson announced in November that she won’t seek re-election. St. Louis’ mayoral primary will take place on March 2. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” has reported that, in a twist, St. Louis voters can vote for as many candidates as they wish in the March primary.

A mayoral runoff election will be held in April.

Baringer, who was first elected to the House in 2016, was re-elected to her third term in November. She defeated Republican Robert Crump, with about 73 percent of the vote.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with State Rep. Donna Baringer, D-St. Louis, which was recorded on December 21, 2020:

Governor Parson reacts to investigative report into recent COVID deaths at Missouri veterans homes

December 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor said Thursday in Jefferson City that he wants some answers, after reading a 53-page independent investigation into recent COVID deaths at Missouri veterans homes.

The Missouri State Veterans home at St. James (2015 file photo courtesy of the Missouri Veterans Commission)

Governor Mike Parson ordered the investigation, which was conducted by St. Louis-based Armstrong Teasdale. The governor emphasizes that he’s limited in what he can say, because he doesn’t know what the outcome will be.

“I will go back to when the (COVID-19) numbers started rising. They’d become a red flag for us here at the governor’s office at the state level and that’s why we had this report done, this investigation done,” Parson says. “So, I think there’s some things in that report that definitely (are) going to have to be addressed and are going to have to be explained.”

Armstrong Teasdale’s investigation found that the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) headquarters failed to recognize the outbreak, and also failed to respond to the outbreak. The investigation found that MVC should have recognized the presence of an outbreak in the veterans home in southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau by September 2.

MVC says 138 veterans living at state veterans homes have now died from COVID since September, including 29 in the past ten days.

The veterans home in northwest Missouri’s Cameron has had the most deaths, with 39. Cape Girardeau is second with 29. There have been 23 deaths in St. James, 16 in Warrensburg, 11 each in St. Louis and Mexico and nine at the veterans home in southwest Missouri’s Mount Vernon.

Governor Parson says a key recommendation in the report is already happening. During Thursday’s Capitol press conference in Jefferson City, Missourinet asked the governor about Armstrong Teasdale’s recommendation that the veterans homes establish a protocol to allow a limited number of designated family members to visit their loves ones.

“And that’s something we’ve been very concerned with all the nursing homes across the state, and we have made ways that you can do visitations across the state,” says Parson. “(State Department of Health and Senior Services Director) Dr. (Randall) Williams has worked really hard on that.”

Armstrong Teasdale’s report says family members are instrumental in their loved ones’ care at veterans homes, including cleaning their ears to help them hear better and brushing their teeth and dressing them.

Meantime, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R), who serves on the Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, has also read Armstrong Teasdale’s report. Hawley has previously expressed concerns about the COVID deaths in veterans homes, saying it’s important to get to the bottom of this.

“The report is bad. I think it details some major lapses. It details some very significant problems. You know I think the report makes clear that the MVC, the Veterans Commission, does genuinely care for and has tried to work hard to care for veterans and I appreciate that. However, our veterans deserve the very best care,” Hawley tells Missourinet.

Armstrong Teasdale’s report makes dozens of recommendations, including calling on MVC headquarters and veterans homes to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 outbreak plan.

MVC Chairman Tim Noonan is reviewing the recommendations closely.

“We’re going to take them all (recommendations) seriously and implement the ones that we think are going to have an impact,” Noonan says. “And definitely, staffing matters. Having the right talent, doing the right job matters.”

Noonan says MVC will drive the reforms that are needed. He also tells Missourinet that this was a complex problem that overwhelmed very well-intended people.

Missouri Bicentennial leaders say every county and town has a story to tell (AUDIO)

December 1, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

August will be the 200th anniversary of Missouri’s statehood, and Missouri 2021 is rolling out a series of virtual programs called “First Tuesdays” that begin on December 1 at 11 a.m.

The Missouri Star Quilt Company, based in northwest Missouri’s Hamilton, has put together the Bicentennial quilt (photo courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial website)

Missouri Bicentennial spokeswoman Beth Pike says each Missouri county and community has a story to tell.

“This is Missouri’s Bicentennial, it’s for everybody,” Pike says. “We really want to engage people from all 114 counties in the state, to really feel a part of it.”

The first program begins Tuesday morning, when Missouri 2021 coordinator Michael Sweeney will provide an overview of the projects and events across the state to commemorate the Bicentennial.

You can find more information about the monthly virtual programs at Missouri2021.org. August 10, 2021 will mark Missouri’s 200th anniversary as the 24th state in the United States.

Meantime, a quilt company based in northwest Missouri’s Hamilton has volunteered to stich a large quilt together that celebrates Missouri’s upcoming Bicentennial. The company is Missouri Star Quilt Company, and Ms. Pike says the quilt showcases the unique characteristics of Missouri culture and style.

“It is large, it’s a huge quilt. We have it where you can see every county, including the independent city of St. Louis, because they’re not a county. They’re an independent city,” says Pike.

Missouri Bicentennial leaders say the mission of Missouri 2021 is to provide a better understanding of Missouri and its regions, both past and present.

Pike notes there is also a traveling photo exhibit and a poster contest. She also says Missouri’s PBS stations are currently working on a documentary, that will be finished in time for the Bicentennial.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri Bicentennial spokeswoman Beth Pike, which was recorded on November 27, 2020: