State Rep. Dan Shaul Archives

Rural Missouri congressional district has more square miles than nine U.S. states

April 7, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House committee working on congressional redistricting will hear public testimony Thursday morning in Jefferson City from residents in northern Missouri’s massive Sixth Congressional District, which covers more square miles than nine U.S. states.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (left) meets with Missouri Governor Mike Parson at the Capitol in Jefferson City on February 24, 2020 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The district includes 36 of Missouri’s 114 counties. The Sixth District includes St. Joseph, Tarkio, Cameron, Chillicothe, Bethany, Trenton, Kirksville, Macon and Hannibal. The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are both in the district.

The district is represented by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Tarkio), who’s the dean of Missouri’s congressional delegation. He’s serving his 11th term on Capitol Hill.

The Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting will meet Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The committee will hear in-person testimony, and written testimony will also be accepted. Committee Chair Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) says the committee is looking for information on what makes the district good and bad, and key characteristics about the district.

Flooding has been a major issue in the district, for the past 30 years. The flood of 1993 devastated the district. The entire town of Pattonsburg had to be relocated. The floods of 1995 and 2019 also caused major problems. Congressman Graves has been critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for how they’ve managed the Missouri River.

Agriculture is also a big issue in the district, as is transportation. The district includes I-29, I-35 and Highway 36. Graves is the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Graves was re-elected to his 11th term in November, beating Democrat Gena Ross with 67 percent of the vote. Graves received 258,709 votes, while Ross received 118,926 votes.

Northern Missouri hasn’t sent a Democrat to Capitol Hill since former U.S. Rep. Pat Danner (D-Smithville), who served four terms from 1993-2000. The late U.S. Rep. Jerry Litton (D-Chillicothe) also represented the district, serving two terms from 1973-1976. Congressman Litton was killed in a plane crash in August 1976, after winning Missouri’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.

Residents in southwest Missouri’s 7th congressional district to testify Thursday at Capitol in Jefferson City

April 1, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House committee on congressional redistricting will take public testimony on Thursday morning in Jefferson City from residents who live in southwest Missouri’s Seventh Congressional District.

U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-Springfield) speaks to frontline health care workers at Mercy Joplin on February 2, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Long’s Twitter page)

The Republican stronghold includes Springfield, Joplin, Branson, Carthage, Bolivar and the communities around Table Rock Lake.

In-person and written testimony will be accepted Thursday morning at 8. House Special Committee on Redistricting Chairman Rep. Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) says the committee wants information from residents about the district’s characteristics, including things that make it good and bad.

U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-Springfield) has represented the district since 2011. Long is now in his sixth term on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Long faced Democratic opponent Teresa Montseny in November, winning the election with 69 percent of the vote. Long received 254,318 votes, to Montseny’s 98,111 votes.

The district hasn’t sent a Democrat to Washington since the late Congressman Charlie Brown, who served two terms from 1957-1960.

Agriculture and transportation are major issues in the district, which includes I-44. The district has also been impacted over the years by flooding and by numerous tornadoes, including the deadly Joplin tornado in 2011. The EF-5 tornado killed 162 people.

Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting wants to hear from 8th District constituents on Tuesday (AUDIO)

March 29, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House committee on congressional redistricting wants public input Tuesday morning from residents in the sprawling Eighth Congressional District, which covers 30 southern and southeast Missouri counties. The district has about 20,000 square miles.

Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting Chair Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) speaks on the House floor in Jefferson City on March 25, 2021 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Special Committee on Redistricting Chairman Rep. Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) says in-person and written testimony will be accepted tomorrow morning at 8.

“And what we’re looking for is just information on what makes the 8th District good, what makes it bad. Good things, you know, characteristics of the district, what’s worked for it being the district it is,” Shaul says.

The district goes from 20 miles south of St. Louis to ten miles east of Branson. The massive district includes Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, Kennett, Farmington, West Plains, Rolla and Ava.

One of the biggest challenges the district has faced involves health care. The rural district has seen five hospital closing since 2016:

** 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)

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Salem), who has represented the 8th District since 2013, calls the closings unacceptable, saying people die when hospitals close.

Transportation is another issue in the district, which includes both I-55 and I-44. Chairman Shaul says agriculture is another common denominator in the district.

“Agriculture is a huge part of the state of Missouri, huge part of that district,” says Shaul. “It’s just good people working hard, and that’s what I like so much about the 8th District.”

The district hasn’t sent a Democrat to Washington since the late Congressman Bill Burlison (D-Wardell), who served from 1969 to 1981. When U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) unseated Burlison in 1980, every state senator and all but one of the district’s state representatives were Democrats. Today, every state lawmaker in the 8th District is a Republican.

Congressman Smith faced Democratic challenger Kathy Ellis, a social worker, in November. Smith won with about 77 percent of the vote. Smith received 253,811 votes, while Ellis received 70,561 votes.

State Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove) serves as vice chair of the House Special Committee on Redistricting. State Rep. Jerome Barnes (D-Raytown) is the ranking Democrat.

The Missouri Legislature won’t redraw the state’s congressional districts until later this year, when they receive numbers from the 2020 U.S. Census.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and House Special Committee on Redistricting Chairman Rep. Dan Shaul (R-Imperial), which was recorded on March 26, 2021:

Look for several late nights in Missouri Senate this week; House to begin discussion on congressional redistricting

March 8, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate will likely be in session for some late nights this week in Jefferson City, as lawmakers wrap up the first half of the 2021 legislative session.

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz speaks to Missourinet in 2020 (January 2020 file photo from Missourinet’s Ashley Byrd)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, tells Missourinet Sullivan affiliate KTUI that senators will debate several key issues on the floor this week.

“I think education (school choice legislation), tax policy, motor fuel tax, and again I would anticipate that we will spend several long nights and when we break, people (state senators and staff) will probably be exhausted and ready for a break,” Schatz tells KTUI.

The Pro Tem reiterated that on Saturday to Missourinet. While education reform is a top priority for several GOP state senators, Democrats worry about the impact on public schools.

Increasing transportation funding has been a top priority for Schatz, who notes Missouri’s 17-cent per gallon gasoline tax has remained the same since 1996.

Schatz’s Senate Bill 262 would increase Missouri’s gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon, by 2027. It also includes a provision for an exemption and refund.

The Missouri House will also be busy this week, both on the floor and in numerous committees.

The House is expected to debate a proposed constitutional amendment this week that involves initiative petitions.

HJR 22 is sponsored by State Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville. If approved by lawmakers this year and if voters approve it, it would require sponsors of initiative petitions proposing constitutional amendments to collect signatures of 12 percent of registered voters in each of Missouri’s eight congressional districts and to submit those petitions to the Legislature for consideration, similar to a bill. The governor’s signature would not be required.

Supporters say the Missouri Constitution is about ten times larger than its federal counterpart, and that many states don’t allow use of initiatives to amend their constitutions. Supporters of Eggleston’s bill include Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.

Opponents of the Eggleston bill say it would prevent the will of the people from becoming law. They also say the initiative process is difficult as it is. Opponents include the Missouri AFL-CIO and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

State Rep. Dan Shaul (R-Imperial), who chairs the Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting, speaks on the House floor in Jefferson City on May 15, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Congressional redistricting will also be discussed this week in Jefferson City.

The Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting will hold its organizational meeting Tuesday morning at 9. Congressional redistricting is done every ten years, after the U.S. Census is completed. State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, chairs the committee, and State Rep. Jerome Barnes, D-Raytown, is the ranking Democrat.

Chairman Shaul tells Missourinet that Tuesday’s meeting is to let committee members know what expectations are for themselves and for the committee, to help them understand the process. The committee won’t meet again until after the legislative spring break.

Legislation involving the Missouri Lottery will also be heard this week, in committee.

The House General Laws Committee meets Monday evening to hear a bill from State Rep. Jay Mosley, D-Florissant, which would give Missouri Lottery winners the option of not having their names published by the Lottery.

Representative Mosley has filed this bill several times, telling Missourinet last year it’s a safety issue.

“I want people to feel safe when they win. I want them to experience their winnings in the best possible fashion,” Mosley said last February.

Mosley worries Missouri Lottery winners could be targeted by people who read about their win, or approached by family members who want money.

Love: Missouri Prime Beef Packers to open beef processing plant in southwest Missouri (AUDIO)

December 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran state lawmaker and cattleman has announced that a company will open a new beef processing plant in January in southwest Missouri’s Pleasant Hope, which is between Springfield and Bolivar.

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on April 11, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, praises the decision by Missouri Prime Beef Packers, saying the Show-Me State ranks second or third in beef cow numbers.

“We have the potential now for Missourians to start feeding and finishing their cattle here in this state, and that will add more value to the Missouri beef,” Love says.

He says the new plant will open at the end of January, providing great pay and benefits. He says the 100,000 square foot facility previously operated as a pork processor, and that the plant is currently undergoing extensive upgrades to accommodate both fed and non-fed beef cattle.

Representative Love, who serves on the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee, tells Missourinet that Pleasant Hope is a perfect location for a beef processing plant. The town has about 600 residents.

“If you draw a 60-mile circle from Joplin, which that includes the majority of southwest Missouri, part of southeast Kansas, northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas, you’ve got a lot of cattle,” says Love.

He says the numbers are there, and that the announcement is good news for the entire state.

He and State Reps. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, and Don Rone, R-Portageville, have been emphasizing Missouri’s efforts to help the meat supply chain overcome interruptions and shutdowns that have happened because of the pandemic.

Love, Shaul and Rone announced in July that the newest modern beef processing plant built in the United States had opened in western Missouri’s Lone Jack, which is southeast of Lee’s Summit. Republic Foods, which has about 175 employees, processes about 250 head of beef cows per day.

As for the Pleasant Hope facility, Love says the plant will have the capacity to process 500 head per day, and will custom process cattle for a variety of niche programs.

“The good news is he’s (the president of Missouri Prime Beef Packers) wanting to open it up and do custom processing for outfits of what I would call labeled meat, that would be in the higher quality grades,” Love says.

He says the top priority for Missouri Prime Beef Packers is food safety. He says the company is emphasizing a connection between the consumer and the producer.

Love says the company is focusing its efforts now on hiring.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, which was recorded on December 22, 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:

Missouri Supreme Court hears notary requirement arguments; no word on when court will rule

October 6, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Supreme Court heard remote oral arguments on Tuesday afternoon in an appeal that aims to remove a notary requirement for mail-in voting for the November general election.

In April, the Missouri NAACP, the League of Women Voters and three registered voters sued the state, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) and others, arguing that the steps to vote by mail during a pandemic are unconstitutional.

The Missouri NAACP and its ACLU attorneys say Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem erroneously upheld the notarization requirement, and they also express concern about a scarcity of notaries.

Missouri Solicitor General D. John Sauer disagrees with that. Counselor Sauer argued on behalf of the state and Secretary Ashcroft.

“The trial court (Cole County circuit court) pointed out that there are, even on plaintiff’s calculation, there are 44,000 notaries in the state of Missouri available to notarize absentee ballots. And there are hundreds of notaries in the secretary of state’s volunteer program,” Sauer tells the court.

He says invalidating the notary requirement is not realistic because voting by mail began on September 22. He says changing the rules midway through the process would subject Missouri voters to different legal requirements during the same election cycle.

Sauer also says invalidating the notary requirement would require reprinting of absentee and mail-in ballot envelopes across Missouri.

The ACLU disagrees with Sauer. They also say that the Cole County circuit court committed multiple errors and erroneously upheld a notarization requirement that imposes burdens on Missourians who are seeking to vote during a global pandemic.

ACLU Foundation attorney Sophia Lin Lakin argued the case on Tuesday.

“No voters will be subjected to different standards here. All voters would exercise their fundamental right under the same standard: having their ballots counted regardless of notarization,” Lin Lakin tells the court.

Some physicians and epidemiologists have filed as friends of the court. They say requiring voters to have absentee ballots notarized present unavoidable increased risks of transmitting the virus that causes COVID.

The ACLU also says Judge Beetem has misapplied a federal case that’s never been applied in Missouri.

There is no word on when the Missouri Supreme Court will rule. One of the questions the Supreme Court is considering is whether the Cole County circuit court failed to consider evidence of burdens associated with requiring ballots to be notarized.

Missouri lawmakers approved the legislation on the final day of session in May. House Democrats were successful in having a photo ID provision removed, in a compromise with Republicans. The legislation from State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, has two but separate options.

The first expands absentee voting to those 65 and older, or who are vulnerable to COVID-19, such as elderly residents. Notarization is not required for those 65 and older or who are vulnerable.

The second option expands voting by mail for everyone, but requires notarization.

Click here to read the 128-page brief from the Missouri NAACP, League of Women Voters, ACLU and others.

Click here to read the 121-page brief from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office, from Solicitor General D. John Sauer.

Western Missouri judge decides on key slot machine case

September 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The controversial issue of slot machines could end up going to the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City.

The “St. Joseph News-Press” reported today that a judge in western Missouri’s Platte County ruled that two “no chance” slot machines found at a Parkville convenience store violate state gambling laws. Judge Thomas Fincham found the company, Integrity Vending of Kansas, guilty of felony promoting gambling by setting up and operating a slot machine.

That’s a class E felony. Judge Fincham has scheduled a November 23 sentencing hearing in Platte City. The “News-Press” reports Integrity Vending could face a fine of $10,000.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd prosecuted the case. He says despite the fact that the slot machines are seen in many Missouri convenience stores and gas stations, they are illegal slot machines, from his perspective.

Zahnd, who was first elected in 2002, has the longest tenure of any elected prosecutor currently serving the Kansas City metro.

The slot machine issue was the subject of at least three hearings in late 2019 by the Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming, which was chaired by State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial.

During an October 2019 hearing, Chairman Shaul predicted that whichever sides loses the Platte County case would appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol testified at that hearing, saying the number of complaints about illegal gambling in Missouri quadrupled in 2019. Most of those complaints were about alleged illegal slot machines.

The Missouri Gaming Commission testified in 2019 that any illegal gaming machines used in Missouri negatively impact casinos and the state Lottery, reducing taxes and funding for education and veterans.

Missouri Supreme Court sending absentee voting case back to Cole County Circuit Court

June 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Supreme Court issued a decision on Tuesday involving absentee voting, ruling that a lawsuit that aims to allow all Missourians to cast absentee ballots without notarization in 2020 can proceed.

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice George Draper takes notes on June 15, 2020, while listening to oral arguments in the absentee voting case (photo courtesy of Missouri Supreme Court communications counsel Beth Riggert)

The Supreme Court is sending the case back to Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem. The decision means the lawsuit from the NAACP of Missouri and the ACLU of Missouri can proceed.

The circuit court dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted. The Supreme Court reversed that decision, finding the plaintiffs had stated a claim and remanded the case to the circuit court so the parties can proceed.

The organizations filed a lawsuit in mid-Missouri’s Cole County, challenging the constitutional validity of absentee voting legislation that was approved by the Missouri Legislature on the final day of session in May.

Governor Mike Parson (R) signed the legislation from State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, in June. It expands voting by mail through the rest of 2020. There are two but separate options under the bill.

The first option has been non-controversial, and is not part of the lawsuit. That option expands absentee voting to those 65 and older, or who are vulnerable to COVID-19. Elderly people are considered at greater risk. Under the bill, notarization is not required for those 65 and older or who are vulnerable.

The second option is the key part of the lawsuit. It expands voting by mail for everyone in 2020, but requires notarization.

The Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on June 15.

During those oral arguments, Sophia Lin Lakin, who argued the case, told the Supreme Court that requiring some voters to get a notary could put their health and the health of others at risk, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“SB 631 still requires voters whom the Legislature did not deem at-risk for COVID or those caring for others who may be at risk, to comply with the notary requirement in order to vote by mail,” Lakin argued on June 15.

But state Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who represents the state attorney general’s office and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, disputed that.

“A bad flu season does involve tens of thousands of deaths nationwide,” Sauer told the Supreme Court last week. “But nobody has ever contended that fear of contracting or spreading the flu is a statutory ground to cast an absentee ballot in Missouri.”

Sauer also argued in court that the NAACP and the League of Women Voters lack associational standing in this case.

Lin Lakin praises Tuesday’s ruling, saying “this decision is a big victory for Missouri voters.”

Click here to read the 73-page legal brief from the NAACP of Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri and others.

Click here to read the 85-page legal brief from state Solicitor General D. John Sauer.

State lawmaker and rancher hopeful that Missouri will get cattle slaughter facility (AUDIO)

June 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran state lawmaker who has served on the House Agriculture Policy Committee for eight years says Missouri needs a cow processing plant.

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, is also a rancher. He notes Missouri is second in the nation in cow numbers.

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, attends the Joint Committee on Agriculture hearing in Jefferson City on May 28, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“I don’t know that we can justify what I call a processing plant to justify processing what I call fed-cattle, most of those are further west of us. But we have a lot of cows in Missouri,” Love says.

Love, whose western Missouri district includes Warsaw and Wheatland, attended the recent legislative Joint Committee on Agriculture hearing in Jefferson City. He is pleased to hear the news from State Rep. Don Rone, R-Portageville, that an effort is underway to get a cattle slaughter facility in Missouri.

“And if you draw a 100-mile circle around Joplin, Missouri, you’re going to find a lot of cows. And I believe we can justify a cow processing plant of size big enough to compete,” says Love.

Love, a Missouri Cattlemen’s Association member, says there was a cattle slaughter facility years ago in western Missouri’s Rockville, which is in Bates County. Rockville is west of Osceola.

Love says the Rockville plant was used by cattle producers across southwest Missouri, as well as southeast Kansas, northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.

During last week’s hearing, Representative Rone testified that he and State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, met recently with retailers and meat wholesalers.

“This would be a processing plant in Missouri, for Missouri for Missouri-grown cattle and to be sold in Missouri,” Rone says.

Rone emphasizes the effort is in its very early stages, telling Missourinet we’re a “long way from brick-and-mortar.” A specific region hasn’t been selected.

Joint Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, supports the plan. Supporters of the proposal hope to form a working group by July.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, which was recorded at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on May 28, 2020: