U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt Archives

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem focused on aging I-70 Rocheport bridge (AUDIO)

June 26, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor has signed a $29.7 billion state operating budget, which takes effect on Monday. It includes $301 million in bridge bonding funding, contingent upon the awarding of a federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant.

A crew member inspects the aging I-70 Rocheport bridge in mid-Missouri (2018 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Sally Oxenhandler)

The bridge bonding measure is a top priority for Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, who sponsored the legislation. He tells Missourinet that U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) is now working to obtain federal grant funding for a new I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport.

“The effects it’s going to have on commerce and traffic and people and the ancillary roads that are going to be affected by the traffic that goes to them, it’s extremely important,” Schatz says.

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna has warned that rehabilitation of the bridge will cause three to eight-hour backups, including 25-mile backups to Kingdom City “on a bad day.”

“Now it’s up to Senator Blunt to go to work for us, go to bat for Missouri and try to bring home some of that grant funding that will help us get that Rocheport bridge done,” says Schatz.

MoDOT says it would cost about $200 million to replace the bridge, which was built in 1960. The bridge is more than 3,000 feet long.

Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick has described I-70 as a focal point of business, as well as moving goods and services across the nation.

Meantime, Pro Tem Schatz is disappointed lawmakers didn’t approve prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation this year. He’s already looking ahead to 2020.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) visits the House chamber on May 17, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“But I will tell you that we will come back next year and I have three more years in this chamber (Missouri Senate). And I will work every year until we get that thing accomplished,” Schatz says.

Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP, which is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state.

The House approved PDMP legislation from State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, by a 103-53 vote in February but the bill died in the Senate, primarily because of opposition from the Senate Conservative Caucus.

Senator Blunt has also called on lawmakers to pass PDMP, saying drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in Missouri and the nation.

Blunt addressed the Missouri House in Jefferson City in April, noting that firefighters in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights tell him they’re ten times as likely to respond to a drug overdose as a fire.

Overall, Schatz says the 2019 session was successful, also citing passage of anti-abortion legislation and a bill aimed at attracting a $1 billion expansion at the sprawling General Motors (GM) plant in eastern Missouri’s Wentzville.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full three-minute interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on May 17, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Battleship USS Missouri crew members from 1945 being sought (AUDIO)

June 17, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The presiding commissioner in mid-Missouri’s Cole County is searching for living crew members of the battleship USS Missouri, who were on the ship during the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in September 1945.

This is a first day of issuance (FDOI) cancellation envelope being held on the deck of the USS Missouri in Hawaii on June 11, 2019 (photo courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service)

Commissioner Sam Bushman tells Missourinet a major event is planned for September 2020 at Pearl Harbor, to celebrate the surrender’s 75th anniversary.

“If we can find them, we would like to take them to Pearl Harbor as our guests,” Bushman says. “Everything would be (covered), airfare, hotel and everything.”

Mr. Bushman is involved with the USS Missouri Memorial Association, which is helping to organize the event.

He’s asking anyone who knows of living veterans who were on the ship for the surrender to contact him at the Cole County Courthouse. His phone number is (573) 634-9113.

“There were thousands of sailors present in Tokyo Bay on September 2 (1945). They weren’t necessarily on the battleship Missouri,” says Bushman.

Bushman tells Missourinet that U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley are both expected to attend next September’s Pearl Harbor event.

General Douglas MacArthur was on the battleship Missouri during the September 1945 surrender. At the ceremony’s conclusion, General MacArthur delivered a radio address to the American people.

“Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death — the seas only commerce men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace. The holy mission has been completed,” MacArthur’s speech began.

Commissioner Bushman is praising the U.S. Postal Service’s new stamp, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the battleship Missouri’s commissioning.

Mr. Bushman helped organize last week’s Statehouse ceremony in Jefferson City to unveil the stamp. He watched as veterans wiped tears away, during the ceremony.

“I mean this is our ship, you know it’s the battleship Missouri, it’s part of our state,” Bushman says.

There were two ceremonies on Tuesday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the commissioning and the new stamp: one in Jefferson City and the other at Pearl Harbor.

Retired U.S. Navy Captain David Durbin says the stamp has already been very popular in Jefferson City, with the Post Office re-ordering additional stamps due to demand.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Cole County Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman, which was recorded on June 11, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Special Olympics Missouri praises “army of volunteers” who’ve responded after Jefferson City tornado

June 5, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

While structural engineers are still finishing their report, Jefferson City’s recent EF-3 tornado does not appear to have caused a total loss at the sprawling Special Olympics Training for Life campus.

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (left) speaks to American Red Cross representatives outside Special Olympics in Jefferson City on May 28, 2019 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

The May 22nd tornado caused enormous damage to the facility, blowing off part of the roof and blowing out numerous windows. The track was also damaged.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says the tornado’s estimated peak wind was 160 miles per hour.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt tells Missourinet he’s optimistic about the facility’s future.

“There’s a lot to be said for rebuilding,” Blunt says. “Rebuilding, I think it was (journalist and novelist Ernest) Hemingway said life breaks us all but afterwards we’re often strongest at the broken places.”

Senator Blunt toured the facility last week, noting he attended the November Training for Life campus’ opening with Governor Mike Parson (R) and former Governor Jay Nixon (D).

Special Olympics notes all building operations have been suspended. Special Olympics Missouri President Susan Stegeman tells Misourinet it does not appear to be a total loss.

There is still enormous damage, and Stegeman says they’ll rebuild.

“I would encourage everyone, if they want to donate money, to do so by texting SOMOREBUILD to 71777,” says Stegeman.

Jefferson City Fire Chief Matt Schofield says the tornado damaged about 240 homes and businesses in the Capital City.

Stegeman is praising the “army of volunteers” who have responded to assist the organization following the tornado. She says the response has been amazing.

“This campus was built by Missouri. It wasn’t built by Special Olympics, it was built by Missouri,” Stegeman says.

Stegeman tells Missourinet the Mizzou baseball team, wrestling team and the women’s basketball team have all been to the facility to assist.

Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin and numerous state lawmakers participated in the recent tour with Blunt. The lawmakers included State Reps. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, and Sara Walsh, R-Ashland.

The American Red Cross was also on-hand.

Missouri Governor Parson urges Corps to give states a seat at the table

May 30, 2019 By Missourinet Contributor

(This story is written by news director Brent Martin at Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ Radio)

ST. JOSEPH, Mo.- Missouri’s governor toured flood-damaged northwest Missouri Wednesday evening, after meeting earlier in the day with three fellow governors and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Council Bluffs.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (left) and State Rep. Sheila Solon (right) at Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St. Joseph on May 29, 2019 (photo courtesy of KFEQ’s Brent Martin)

Governor Mike Parson says Missouri is battling Mother Nature as the state fights flooding from border to border. He tells Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ Radio (AM 680) there is virtually no part of the state that hasn’t been impacted by flooding.

“You know it’s just unfortunate right now, it just seems like we can’t get a break with the rain. No matter where we’re at, it’s just a problem and right now, we’re just trying to hold our own here in Missouri. We’re just fighting everyday to try to make sure these levees stay in place and trying to sandbag all over the state right now,” Parson says.

Parson tells KFEQ that he and fellow governors from Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska met with the Corps about the current situation. He says all four expressed their concerns about additional releases from Gavins Point Dam, and are calling for greater input from the states on how the Corps manages the river.

Parson says the governors are urging the Corps to give states a seat at the table. He says states must have a significant say in Missouri River management.

Governor Parson surveyed the Buchanan County flooding with State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, and State Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph. Senator Luetkemeyer, who represents Buchanan and Platte Counties, says farms, homes and businesses throughout low-lying areas of his district have been inundated with rising flood waters.

Luetkemeyer notes flooding has been a “persistent problem” along the Missouri River since March. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt told reporters this week in Jefferson City that northwest Missouri’s Craig has already flooded three times this year.

Senator Hawley and Missouri lawmakers praise volunteer response after Jefferson City tornado (AUDIO)

May 28, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s junior senator says the large volunteer response after last week’s EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City represents the best of America.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley views a tornado-damaged building near the old MSP in Jefferson City on May 25, 2019 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley toured tornado-damaged East Capitol Avenue on Saturday, and visited with dozens of the volunteers who turned out.

“People coming with their tools and their chainsaws to help and clear away things,” Hawley says. “People taking in neighbors and letting them stay in their homes, it really is a testament to the spirit of this state.”

Hawley tells Missourinet that many of the 240 damaged homes and businesses have been destroyed.

More than 1,000 volunteers turned out Saturday in Jefferson City to remove debris and help tornado victims.

Meantime, a state lawmaker who represents the Capital City is praising youth groups and children, for their response to the tornado. State Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, says youth groups from Jefferson City, Columbia and other communities have assisted at the Special Olympics Training for Life campus and other impacted locations.

“Anybody who questions the value of our youth and questions whether they are hard workers should have been here yesterday (Friday) and today,” Veit told a Missourinet reporter Saturday, outside the walls of the old Missouri State Penitentiary, which also took a direct hit from the tornado.

The 16-acre Special Olympics campus serves current and future Missouri athletes who have intellectual disabilities.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt will travel to Jefferson City on Tuesday afternoon to survey tornado damage at the Special Olympics Training for Life campus, which is next to a quarry near Highway 54. Missourinet’s Bill Pollock reports the building’s entire glass entrance has been blown out, and part of its roof is missing.

State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, says he’s grateful that no one was killed in Wednesday’s tornado, which he describes as an amazing testament to the community and the coordination with first responders.

“This has really kind of shown the resilience of our state and the folks in our state, how good of people they are. I mean, there are communities from around the state that are coming in here volunteering,” says Fitzwater.

Representative Fitzwater says Jefferson City will rebuild, thanks to first responders and volunteers who’ve turned out.

As for Senator Hawley, he says tornado damage assessments must get done quickly, so relief can get to impacted communities like Jefferson City and Eldon.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full three-minute interview with State Reps. Rudy Veit and Travis Fitzwater, which was recorded on May 25, 2019 near the old Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City: