U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler Archives

Missouri’s Hartzler: 20 veterans a day are committing suicide (AUDIO)

July 2, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

COLUMBIA, Mo.- A Missouri congresswoman whose sprawling district includes Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster traveled to Columbia on Monday to raise awareness about PTSD and veteran suicides.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, speaks to a veteran’s family member at the Columbia Vet Center on July 1, 2019 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, toured the Columbia Vet Center on Rangeline. She says 20 veterans a day are committing suicide, calling that unacceptable.

“They’ve served us and when they come back they deserve us to step up and to stand by them and to help them,” Hartzler says.

Hartzler describes the situation as heartbreaking.

“Each one of these individuals is not a statistic. They’re a husband, they’re a father, they’re a son, a daughter,” says Hartzler.

Congresswoman Hartzler, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, says the Veterans Administration (VA) has not spent money appropriated last year by the Congress for veteran suicide prevention.

“We found out that money was not spent and in Congress, we are trying to focus on and make sure people are aware of this,” Hartzler says. “So it was very disheartening and actually angering.”

“Time” reported in December that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that VA officials failed to spend millions of dollars earmarked for veteran suicide prevention efforts in fiscal year 2018, “leading to a measurable decline in outreach activity.”

Hartzler met with veterans and their families during Monday’s tour. She praises the work being done at the Columbia Vet Center, including trauma counseling and transitional assistance. The facility, which works closely with the Harry Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, also assists veterans who suffered sexual trauma while serving our country.

The Columbia Vet Center says it employs preventive intervention strategies to enhance the quality of life for veterans.

The facility says it “provides access to veterans in a setting that is stress-free”, adding that 86 percent of staff members are veterans.

Click here to listen to U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, brief Brian Hauswirth and other mid-Missouri reporters on July 1, 2019 at the Columbia Vet Center on Rangeline:

Large steel plant will be anchor tenant for Sedalia’s new rail industrial park (AUDIO)

July 1, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The economic development director in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia says a $400 million steel rebar manufacturing plant under construction there is one of the largest projects Missouri has landed in the past decade.

Executives from Charlotte-based Nucor made the plant announcement at the Missouri State Fairgrounds on November 21, 2017 (file photo courtesy of State Sen. Denny Hoskins)

Sedalia-Pettis County Economic Development Executive Director Jessica Craig says the decision by North Carolina-based Nucor is a game changer for Sedalia, which has about 70 manufacturers.

“A project (like) this is transformative for our community, for the contractors that are working there,” Craig says. “There’s about 500 people that are working on site today.”

Craig says the 500 construction workers include men and women from various trades.

“From electricians to welders to fabricators to equipment installers and those individuals that are doing dirt work and site prep,” says Craig.

The plant is expected to open in November.

Craig tells Missourinet that Nucor has hired about 150 employees so far, to fill three shifts. She says Nucor is still hiring, and the steelworker jobs will pay an average salary of $65,000.

She encourages applicants to visit Nucor’s website.

Craig also says Nucor will be the anchor tenant of Sedalia’s new rail industrial park.

“It (steel plant) has inspired a lot of development, additional development in the community. There are retail and commercial locations also under construction in that corridor,” Craig says.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, announced in February that the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded Sedalia a $10 million grant to extend its existing railroad tracks to the new Sedalia rail industrial park.

Senator Blunt says the facility is on track to become the largest, exclusive rail-served industrial park in the Midwest.

Craig says landing the project has been a team effort, praising Governor Mike Parson’s office, the state Department of Economic Development (DED), state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Union Pacific, Kansas City Power and Light and Liberty Utilities.

While Sedalia’s population is about 24,000, Craig says they draw workers from a ten-county labor base with a population of 256,000.

Sedalia Mayor John Kehde spoke to Missourinet Sedalia affiliate KDRO (AM 1490) last week, praising the project and saying it’s good for the community. Mayor Kehde is also pleased with the progress that’s been made.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Sedalia-Pettis County Economic Development Executive Director Jessica Craig, which was recorded on June 27, 2019:

Missouri Congressman Graves optimistic about USDA moving to Kansas City region (AUDIO)

June 14, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it’s selected the greater Kansas City area for the relocation of two major facilities: its Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agricultural Policy.

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, says the decision will draw more than 550 jobs to the Kansas City region, with average wages between $80,000 and $100,000.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, tours the MFA Rail facility near northwest Missouri’s Hamilton on October 8, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Graves’ office)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, who represents 36 northern Missouri counties, says it makes sense to move the USDA agencies from Washington to what he describes as “the heart of farm country.”

“This is going to take those agencies right out to the very places that they’re doing research for and trying to help and the industry they’re trying to help,” Graves says.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) says the Kansas City area is closer to USDA’s farmer-constituent base. Congressman Graves, who farms in northwest Missouri, agrees. He says the move gets USDA closer to the people they serve.

“And what’s more, it gets them closer to FAPRI, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute there at the University of Missouri which does a lot of the work, the research work for these two agencies,” says Graves.

FAPRI was started in 1984. Its website notes it provides objective analysis of markets and policies. One of its primary purposes is to provide decision makers with information about how policy changes or market conditions impact the agricultural sector.

While there will be efforts to block it, Graves is optimistic about USDA’s proposal to relocate to the Kansas City region. He says it underscores the quality of life in the greater Kansas City area.

“We’ve got good schools and we got good communities and safe communities and that’s what is important when it comes to attracting folks to take these positions,” Graves says.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst agrees, saying Kansas City “is the heart of our farm economy” and is the right choice for USDA.

U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, is blasting the move, calling it the “wrong decision.” Leader Hoyer has issued a statement, saying he’ll continue to explore all options to reverse USDA’s decision.

Cleaver expects a fight from the Maryland and Virginia congressional delegations.

Congressman Graves says the move will save tax dollars. The “Kansas City Star” reports Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the relocation will save USDA about $300 million over 15 years.

Graves tells Missourinet the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will conduct a search for a site, emphasizing that nothing has been decided yet on the site.

Graves also emphasizes that it’s been a bipartisan effort in Missouri to land the jobs, crediting both Congressman Cleaver and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, which was recorded on June 13, 2019: