Taney County Archives

Missouri receives $15 million in CARES Act funding to help rebuild tourism industry

July 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor announced $15 million in grant funding on Thursday to help rebuild Missouri’s tourism industry, which has been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Missouri Tourism Director Stephen Foutes briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 16, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says Missouri has seen 30,422 confirmed coronavirus cases, along with 1,113 deaths.

State Department of Economic Development (DED) Director Rob Dixon tells Capitol reporters in Jefferson City that the grant funding will help the tourism industry make attractions safer.

“So many Missouri destinations and businesses are working hard to stay open, to support the countless jobs that depend on this industry, while protecting the safety of their workers and their customers,” Dixon says.

Under the program announced Thursday by Governor Mike Parson, $15 million in CARES Act funding will be designated for destination marketing organizations, which are entities that promote Missouri as a place to visit. The money can be used for things such as payroll relief and reimbursement for safety equipment.

State Tourism Director Stephen Foutes says the funding will also provide enhanced safety efforts for events.

“Qualified DMOs can apply to have costs associated with things such as temperature screenings at events or event facilities offset through this program,” says Foutes.

Foutes says conventions are non-existent now in many Missouri communities, because of COVID. Dixon says about 58,000 Missouri food service workers lost their jobs between March and June, because of the pandemic.

Missouri’s tourism industry generated about $14 billion in 2019.

During the media briefing, Missourinet asked Director Dixon about the pandemic’s impact on the vacation town of Branson, which is in southwest Missouri. Dixon says tourism in the Branson area has dropped significantly from COVID-19, in both Stone and Taney counties.

“We’ve seen early on that in particular higher unemployment rates and things like that than the rest of the state, and that kind of follows trends around the world, around the country in particular, of where those effects are seen,” Dixon says.

Before COVID, millions of people visited Branson annually. The town has about 57,000 theater seats, and anglers from across the Midwest fish for bass and crappie on Table Rock Lake.

As for Governor Parson, he praises the grant funding and says this is a great time to support local communities through tourism. DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams agrees and emphasizes the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask and washing your hands.

College of the Ozarks security bill to be heard by Missouri House committee on Monday

January 25, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would allow a private college in southwest Missouri to employ police officers on-campus will go before a House committee Monday in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Jeff Justus, R-Branson, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on March 12, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bill from State Rep. Jeff Justus, R-Branson, will be heard Monday at noon by the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee.

It’s called the “Private College Campus Protection Act.” Last year’s bill would have allowed any of Missouri’s private college or universities to employ police officers on-campus, but the bill stalled.

Justus has rewritten the language so that the new bill only applies to College of the Ozarks, which is located in Point Lookout.

College of the Ozarks Operation Head for Crisis Management Kurt McDonald traveled to Jefferson City last February to testify for the bill, saying it’s about response time.

McDonald notes Point Lookout is about 30 minutes away from Taney County Sheriff’s deputies in Forsyth. He testified in February that the bill is needed because of what he calls the too-often threat of an active shooter, and emphasized his respect for Taney County Sheriff’s deputies.

“I don’t want to be the person that calls a parent in the loss of a student, and this is a way that we can put another level of protection by being our own first responders,” McDonald testified in 2019.

Bill supporters say it would ensure campus safety and would require a professionalism for College of the Ozarks campus security. Under the bill, officers would have to take an oath of office and finish police training to obtain a peace officer license.

Justus’ bill is House Bill 1282.

This year’s bill includes a location description for “private college” or “private university” within five miles “of any city of the fourth classification with more than 4,000 but fewer than 4,500 inhabitants and located in any county of the first classification with more than 50,000 but fewer than 70,000.”

These provisions only apply to College of the Ozarks.