University of Missouri-St. Louis Archives

Kinder describes the late Wayne Goode “as one of the real giants in the Missouri Senate” (AUDIO)

October 6, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Political figures on both sides of the aisle are praising the legacy of longtime Missouri lawmaker Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, who died Saturday at the age of 83. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports Goode died from leukemia.

The late State Sen. Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City in 2002 (file photo courtesy of Jonathan Lorenz at Senate Communications)

Goode served 42 years in the Legislature, from 1963 to 2005. Most of that was before term limits took effect in 1994. Goode served in the Missouri House from 1963 to 1984, and in the Senate from 1984 to January 2005.

Goode served 12 years in the Senate with former State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, who was President Pro Tem for Goode’s final years in the chamber.

“Wayne Goode was plainly and justifiably recognized by all as one of the real giants in the Missouri Senate, and for that matter, the General Assembly in the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century,” Kinder says.

Kinder praises Goode’s encyclopedic knowledge of Missouri’s complicated education foundation formula and of the budget. He notes Goode served as a House Budget Committee chairman.

“Wayne was a great storer of institutional knowledge and wisdom all to himself. He was a guy people on both sides of the aisle looked to for guidance on a lot of issues,” says Kinder.

Kinder credits Goode and the late State Sen. John Russell, R-Lebanon, for helping Missouri through tough budget years from 2001-2004. Kinder notes Goode and Russell entered the Missouri House together in 1963, and that while they shared different political philosophies, they put the state’s interest first.

The “Post-Dispatch” reports one of Goode’s first pieces of legislation in the 1960s allowed the University of Missouri to acquire property in Normandy to establish the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After leaving the Senate, then-Governor Jay Nixon (D) appointed Goode to the UM Board of Curators from 2009-2014.

“The respect from every member of the (Missouri Senate) chamber and every member of the House chamber and the executive branch was always there for Wayne Goode,” Kinder says.

Brad Ketcher, who served as Governor Mel Carnahan’s (D) chief of staff, describes Senator Goode as an extraordinary legislator, tweeting Sunday that “Missouri was so much better for his decades of public service.”

Goode also was known for his legislation involving the environment, including the issue of emission testing on vehicles in the St. Louis area. And he expressed concerns several times about speeding and increasing traffic deaths on Missouri highways.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full five-minute interview with former Missouri Lt. Governor and former Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder (R-Cape Girardeau) about State Sen. Wayne Goode’s service and legacy. The interview was recorded on October 5, 2020:

Missouri audit: Charter school exec exaggerated attendance to get $1.4 million in extra state aid

October 29, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

A new audit says the leader of a now-closed St. Louis charter school significantly inflated student attendance for at least three school years to get $1.4 million in additional state funding. State Auditor Nicole Galloway tells Missourinet Michael Malone, who was executive director of St. Louis College Prep Charter School, attempted to cover-up the school’s money problems.

Audit: St. Louis charter school exec exaggerated attendance to get $1.4 million in extra state aid

“The actual enrollment that the school reported to the state was less than the average daily attendance that they reported to the state,” says Galloway. “That should have been an immediate red flag, but it was not caught.”

The audit also found suspicious credit card use, including the purchase of gift cards, hotel stays, a vacation package, alcohol and items from Amazon. Malone resigned one year ago after allegedly admitting to fibbing attendance figures. Galloway’s office has sent the audit’s findings to the Attorney General’s Office for review.

“Taxpayers should be made whole,” says Galloway. “This is money that is supposed to go towards educating kids throughout the entire state and this charter school in St. Louis falsified records to get money in a fraudulent way. There should be consequences for that.”

The school opened in 2011 and lost its sponsorship earlier this year from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Galloway says she’s interested in a broad review of charter schools’ oversight by their sponsors.

“It’s important to remember that charter schools have multiple levels of oversight,” she says. “There’s a board that overlooks the charter school, a charter school sponsor, which can be a college, university and also the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state, has oversight of charter schools.”

Galloway goes on to say rigging attendance numbers to get extra state aid is not a widespread problem in Missouri.

“That’s partially what makes this audit so catching is that the executive director admitting to falsifying records and defrauded taxpayers in the state of Missouri of $1.4 million dollars,” she says.

A 2015 state audit found that the former Hope Academy charter school in Kansas City inflated attendance data to get an added $4.3 million in state funds. The school closed in 2014. A 2015 state audit also uncovered that the St. Joseph School District in northwest Missouri fudged attendance information in summer school classes – leading the district to lose $2 million in state aid.

The complete audit report can be found here.

Central Missouri and Missouri-St. Louis men’s golf teams advance to NCAA nationals after finishing 2nd and 3rd at regionals

May 7, 2015 By Bill Pollock

Central Missouri men’s golf advances to nationals (photo/UCM)

Central Missouri men’s golf place second at the NCAA Super Regional Tournament at Cog Hill Country Club in Lemont, IL. For the third time in the last five years, the University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s golf team has earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Championships.

UCM and UMSL ensured themselves of a bid to the Division II National Meet, May 18-22 at the Rock Barn Golf Course and Spa in Conover, N.C.

UCM shot a final round 309, 21 strokes over par. They finished the regional at 895, +31, and 10-strokes behind Regional Champions, Central Oklahoma. The Tritons recorded a third place finish.

The Missouri-St. Louis golf team (photo/UMSL Athletics)

It marks the ninth NCAA Championships appearance for the program and the third under the direction of sixth-year head coach Troy Halterman. UMSL’s last appearance was in 2013, in which the Tritons posted a program-best tie for fifth place finish.

Travis Mays was the Mules top finisher. He placed in the top-10, tying for seventh overall with a 220, four over par, over the three days. Mays best round was the first, when he shot a 67 (-5). He shot a 78, six over par today. Individually for UMSL, junior Anthony Cope tied for 12th place with a 222 (76-71-75), while sophomore Matt Barry was one stroke behind with a 223 (70-74-79).

Upsets at the Great Lakes Valley women’s tourney…top seeded Drury University falls late, seventh seeded Truman State shocks defending champ

March 7, 2014 By Bill Pollock

Sanayika Shields puts up a shot against Maryville in the GLVC tournament (photo courtesy/Drury Athletics)

NO. 8 MARYVILLE 56, NO. 1 DRURY 55

Maryville University has advanced to Saturday’s semifinals of the GLVC Championship Tournament following a late bucket by senior Samantha Robinson to get the victory over top-seeded Drury University on Thursday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. No. 8 seed Maryville succeeded in the biggest upset in GLVC Tournament history as the Saints were led by Shelby Miller and Robinson with 11 points each and Alex Hillyer adding 10. Sanayika Shields led all scorers with 17 points for the Panthers who came into the game ranked No. 6 in the USA Today/WBCATop 25 poll.

NO. 7 TRUMAN STATE 84, NO. 2 LEWIS 70

Another upset as newcomers Truman State took down reigning GLVC Champion Lewis by a score of 84-70 on Thursday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. The No. 7 seed Bulldogs were led by Bianca Szafarowicz with 22 points and 8 rebounds, while three other players scored in double digits. For the Flyers, Mariyah Henley and Jamie Johnson scored 23 and 22 points, respectively; Henley also contributed 16 boards for Lewis.

NO. 4 INDIANAPOLIS 78, NO. 5 MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS 74

The University of Indianapolis has advanced to Saturday’s semifinals following a 78-74 victory over fifth-seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. No. 4 seed UIndy was led by Eliza Wortman, who came off the bench to score 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Alexis Lawrence and Alyssa Like scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, while Hazaria Washington notched 18 points and 14 boards in the loss.

Central Missouri, UMSL qualify for NCAA golf nationals

May 9, 2013 By Bill Pollock

The Central Missouri Mules shot a final round 285 to come from behind and win the NCAA-II Midwest/Central Super Regional with a three-round total of five-under par 859. Freshman Robby Hughey won the individual crown with a 13-under par 203. The University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons recorded a third place finish and joins Central Missouri in the NCAA Championship May 20-24 at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa.

The Mules were the only team in the tournament to shoot all three round under 290 (287, 287, 285) and Hughey was the only individual to show all three rounds in the 60s as he won the individual title by four shots. UMSL finished with a 54-hole score of 866 (283-290-293), seven strokes behind Central Missouri.

UMSL’s Joe Atkisson, who competed in last year’s regional as an individual and placed 95th, took home a third place finish this year, carding a six-under par 210 (68-70-72), bettering his own 54-hole school record of 214.

UMSL hit with probation from NCAA

September 3, 2010 By Bill Pollock

The University of Missouri-St. Louis athletic department was put on two years probation because a former golf coach violated the NCAA’s anti-gambling rules for participating in fantasy football and baseball. NCAA documents show that former men’s golf coach Dustin Ashby paid for fantasy leagues while coaching the school. Ashby was also a part-owner for a multi-million dollar fantasy sports business.

The probation does not affect postseason play or any student athlete’s eligibility.