Columbia

One in four Missouri nursing homes hasn’t had a standard inspection in two or more years, according to recently-updated federal data.

Federal law requires states conduct an unannounced comprehensive inspection for each long-term care facility at least every 15 months to assess compliance with federal health and safety rules. 

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Originally Appeared Here

Since 2003, Missouri has set aside a weekend at the beginning of August when families won’t pay state tax on new clothes and school supplies as they prepare for the start of the school year.

For just as long, every city, county and special district that imposes its own sales tax has had the authority to opt out of the Back to School tax holiday. With local sales taxes often matching or exceeding the state charge, the impact of the discount was limited.

This year, for the first time, there will be no sales tax at all from 12:01 a.m. Friday until midnight Sunday on any sales of the exempt items like backpacks, calculators and jeans. The repeal of the opt-out provision was one of the changes in a 2021 tax law that allows Missouri and local governments to collect tax on online purchases.

Not being able to opt out is expected to cost local governments about $465,000, but it’s offset by additional revenue from online sales in communities that have rolled out what is called a use tax. Of the 156 cities that opted out in 2022, 79 have these use taxes, including regional shopping destinations like Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Joplin and Springfield. Among counties, 49 of 114 opted out in 2022, and 31 of those now have use taxes.

An interstate agreement requires that tax collection for online purchases be as simple as possible, said Richard Sheets, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League. Even without the holiday, the state sales tax table is already 99 pages long because of various local add-ons to the state’s 4.225% tax. The combined state and local tax rate exceeds 11% in several communities.

The U.S. Supreme Court determined five years ago that states can tax online sales, even though the companies don’t have a physical presence within state lines. It’s known as the Wayfair fix because the case was brought by the online retailer.

“To make Wayfair work, we have to standardize those sales tax holidays,” Sheets said. “We can’t have various rules that out-of-state vendors have to abide by.”

In Missouri, the bill that ended Back to School holiday opt-outs also nixed local opt-outs on the “Show Me Green Sales Tax Holiday,” which exempts purchases of energy-star rated appliances costing $1,500 or less for a week in April. 

The Back to School tax holiday covers:

• Clothing, excluding watches, jewelry, belt buckles, scarves and ties but including disposable diapers for infants and adult use, up to $100 in value per item.
• School supplies, excluding phones, sporting equipment and furniture but including backpacks, textbooks and art supplies, up to $50 per transaction.
• Computers and peripherals, up to $1,500 in value per item.
• Graphing calculators up to $150 in cost.
• Computer software up to $350 in cost.

Keeping up with which communities opted out and those that participated in the tax holidays was confusing to consumers, said state Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester. Cities, counties and special districts all have the authority to impose sales taxes with voter approval, and the top rate is above 11% in a number of communities.

“Consumers think there is a holiday, and they didn’t realize they have to pay the local tax,” Koenig said. “Also, I heard from some businesses that they weren’t sure what part was opted in and opted out.”

Oftentimes, cities and counties with large shopping districts would opt out together. That is how it worked in Springfield and Columbia, for example, meaning that only the state tax was not collected.

In Cape Girardeau County, the county government did not opt out while the city of Cape Girardeau did, so the only tax retailers collected was the 2.75% city tax.

Enacting the Wayfair case language was a priority for Missouri retailers, because it meant goods purchased online — often discounted already compared with in-person retailers — would no longer receive the additional advantage of untaxed sales. 

The law has boosted sales tax revenues, which were nearly stagnant. Sales tax receipts only grew 1.7% in fiscal 2020, a rate that jumped to 7.6% in fiscal 2023, which ended June 30.

With Koenig’s legislation, Missouri agreed to abide by the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which has a governing body that decides if state policies meet requirements. Ending opt-outs on sales tax holidays was an important piece of that, Koenig said. 

“I didn’t want to take any chances of us being out of compliance,” he said.

Before local governments can collect the online taxes, voters must approve the levy. So far, voters in 281 municipalities across the state have approved the tax.

The opt-out provision was included originally as a compromise because local governments zealously guard their revenue sources when threatened by the legislature. So far, Sheets said, cities have accepted the trade-off of lost revenue from the tax holidays for new revenue from online purchases.

“We haven’t had any major complaints,” he said.

Originally Appeared Here

Social Service, food security and other types of organizations around Columbia and Boone County often are focused on making big bangs, but with small bucks.

Well, 26 Boone County Organizations will continue to make those significant impacts, but with considerable more bucks through one-time American Rescue Plan Act grants awarded by the Boone County Commission.

Love Columbia and Show-Me Central Habitat for Humanity celebrated its awards earlier in the week, but other significant awardees In2Action, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, received their recognitions Thursday and Friday.

Boone County Commissioners Kip Kendrick, Justin Aldred and Janet Thompson at each of the award ceremonies Thursday and Friday expressed how transformative the impacts will be to the various organization that received the ARPA grants.

In2Action will get $1.2 million, CCUA will receive $1.5 million and the Food Bank will add $1 million to its budget.

In2Action

In2Action is a recovery and transitional program for people who were formerly incarcerated. It has both live-in transitional and recovery housing on Lakewood Drive and a drop-in resource center nearby known as The Reentry Opportunity Center, or The ROC, at 2108 Paris Road.

The ARPA grant will let In2Action find a permanent home for The ROC, expand its recovery respite care service and provide workforce development training via a forklift certification program, said Dan Hanneken, Executive Director and In2Action founder.

“I hope the decision you made with In2Action is providing a return long after we are gone. I’m not talking five or 10 years, I’m talking 50, 100 years,” he said, choking back tears, referencing the Commission’s decisions on ARPA awards. “I hope that for all of the (awards). We are going to make sure that this money is giving back to this community, 50, 100, 200 years from now.”

After Hanneken’s third release as an offender from the department of corrections in 2003, he made a vow that he would someday create a reentry and recovery program. By 2007 he had his master’s degree in social work and became a licensed clinical social worker. From 2007 to 2011 he worked for the department of corrections as a reentry coordinator. In2Action got its start in 2011 through the support of The Crossing church and a donor, taking on its first members in 2012.

In2Action now operates across four acres and can house up to 55 people. It is a certified clinical outpatient treatment program with the Missouri Department of Mental Health as well as accredited by the National Association of Recovery Residences. The program is known to greatly reduce recidivism rates among the people it helps.

Its model has become nationally known, Thompson said, who sits on the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee through the National Association of Counties.

“We have monthly Zoom calls and normally what we do is have someone talk for 10 minutes on their (various) programs. Dan agreed to come on the call and was prepared to talk for 10 minutes. He didn’t get off the hot seat until the end of the meeting,” she said.

She continues to get phone calls and emails wanting to know more about In2Action.

“This is a model that everyone in the country is looking at and saying, ‘There is a way forward.’ It is life altering for the people and their families in the community,” Thompson said.

More:‘A hand up, not a handout:’ Gov. Mike Parson welcomes grand opening of Columbia Reentry Opportunity Center

Also at the ceremony were The ROC Director Jessica Chambers, In2Action Managing Director D’Markus Thomas-Brown, Office Manager Bob Reynolds and In2Action board members Heather Hargrove, Scott Johnston and Doreen Dabney, who also is a live-in volunteer working with the program members.

Since In2Action has limited program space, The ROC is an additional resource for those who may not be in the In2Action program but still are looking for help. Chambers works to answer any question and provide any resource possible for members who drop-in, she said.

“I love working with the people. I’m a helper. I help people get identification, birth certificates, clothing, bikes, I refer people to mental health care, we help people get into sober-living housing, help fill out food-stamp applications, if someone doesn’t know how to use the internet I will teach them,” Chambers said. “If I don’t know the resource, I will find the resource.”

Hargrove become connected with In2Action after meeting Hanneken through a local Rotary Club. Rotary does a monthly dinner for In2Action and there was one year Hargrove also participated in a Christmas gift distribution through the Rotary.

“It is the first time some of these guys have ever gotten a gift,” she said, taking a moment’s pause as the emotion of that statement hit her.

Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture

While CCUA is its own entity, it works in tandem with the Columbia Farmers Market, Columbia Parks and recreation and by extension the Food Bank, from the Clary-Shy Park property. Apart from the MU Health Care Pavilion that the farmers market calls home, CCUA has an outdoor classroom, and small fields of produce it grows for the Food Bank.

The one thing it does not yet have is a welcome center, with offices for CCUA and farmers market staff, a commercial teaching kitchen and large open meeting space. That will change sometime next year when CCUA breaks ground on the center, supported in part by the ARPA award issued this week.

More:Public safety, parks, business projects progressing across Columbia

“We’ve create a big onion with a lot of layers and there is a lot here,” said CCUA Capital Campaign Director Adam Saunders about the partnerships and the work of CCUA. “It has been very humbling to be an organizer like this. … The last piece of the puzzle is the 11,000-square foot community welcome center.”

The award puts CCUA nearly at its funding finish line said Billy Polansky, CCUA executive director, in a phone call with the Tribune on Wednesday.

“There has been a lot of anticipation for these awards. It really gets us within striking distance. This (welcome center) is the last piece of building out the agriculture park. It opens the door for new programming,” he said.

The kitchen also will allow CCUA to use the produce it grows and other products supplied by the Food Bank to create ready-to-cook meal kits, giving time back to Food Bank and pantry clients and a healthy alternative to what may seem quicker and easier via drive-thru fast food windows, said Lindsay Young Lopez, Food Bank president and CEO on Friday.

The welcome center also can operate as a lending library, but for gardening tools or other cooking equipment instead of books.

CCUA checks all the boxes of what is needed to receive the ARPA grant, Kendrick said.

“I cannot say how proud we are of the incredible things you are doing and how far you’ll go ahead of us. Part of it is helping the next generation understand the importance of agriculture. Even if you live in an urban area, it does not separate you from food, it does not separate you from your ability to grow food,” he said.

From 2022:What expanded Columbia Farmers Market pavilion could look like after $1.3 million grant

Resident Arthur Mehrhoff was among the many who were at MU Health Care Pavilion Thursday morning celebrating the award.

“To have an anchor like this within the heart of the city is like an anchor pulling people back,” he said about the welcome center and agriculture park Clary-Shy.

Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri

The application the commission received from the Food Bank hit all the notes of what an ARPA application requires, Thompson said Friday following a tour of the new Food Bank Market, formerly Central Pantry, by Lopez.

More:New Broadway Brewery beer supports Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri

The Food Bank Market increases the Central Pantry footprint from 3,000-square feet to 5,300-square-feet, will be set up much like a grocery store so guests can pick and choose what they want, and other services will be on site, including a 1,000-square foot clinic space for Compass Health, which will have its own entrance apart from the market.

With the new facility, which was a former Moser’s Grocery store on Business Loop 70 West, it increases shelf stable food storage for the food bank by 11,000-square feet and cold storage (both refrigeration and freezer) by 8,000-square feet.

The ARPA award goes toward the capital campaign for the ongoing construction costs of the market, which has a tentative fall open date. The campaign was roughly 60% funded in May when the Food Bank announced the pantry name change. Cabinets now are going up in the community room space and the demonstration kitchen, which has views onto the main shopping floor and the community room.

“You have proven you will put the money to good use,” Kendrick said.

The foundational hierarchy of needs starts with nutrition, Aldred said, addressing the programs provided by the Food Bank and its partnership with CCUA.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

Originally Appeared Here

DARK details have emerged in Mengqi Ji’s murder case after a tree led cops to solve her husband Joseph Elledge’s sick crime.

The body of the 28-year-old was discovered on March 25, 2021, in a shallow grave in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park near Columbia, Missouri.

Mengqi Ji’s body was discovered on March 25, 2021Credit: DEFENSE ATTORNEY MATEI STROESCU & DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAN KNIGHT/BOONE COUNTY DA’S OFFICE
A tree led cops to solve Mengqi’s husband Joe Elledge’s sick crimeCredit: CBS
Her burial site was found by a hiker in Rock Bridge Memorial State ParkCredit: ABC 17

But above the burial spot was a juniper tree that would eventually lead cops to discover who dumped her body there.

According to Elledge, Mengqi had taken her purse and disappeared sometime in the early morning hours of October 8, 2019.

“We didn’t have any big fights,” Elledge, then 23, told detectives.

“I think the last big fight was actually the week before. And it wasn’t really a big fight.”

Then in an interview with KRCG, Elledge said he had suspicions that Mengqi was having an affair.

“I know she was talking to somebody else on the side,” he said.

“And I didn’t know that until after she had left. But whatever she’s doin’ I just hope she’s safe.”

The then-Boone County prosecuting attorney, Dan Knight, told 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant that even early on in the case, he saw cracks in Elledge’s story.

When she had allegedly disappeared, Mengqi left behind her passport, cellphone, house keys and car – but more noticeably, she had left behind her 1-year-old daughter.

Knight told Van Sant: “It became apparent early on that Mengqi would not have abandoned her child … She was a great mother.”

Investigators also found no trace of Uber rides, airline tickets or credit card activity which grew their suspicions about Elledge’s story that she had run away.

In a shocking twist in events, just 16 days after the woman disappeared, Elledge was arrested – but not in relation to Mengqi’s case.

Knight slapped Elledge with a charge relating to child abuse after Mengqi sent a photograph of their daughters bruised buttock to her mum in China, and claimed her husband had pinched the baby as she wouldn’t stop crying.

But the day he was arrested, cops searched Elledge’s apartment and stumbled across crucial pieces of evidence in relation to his wife’s disappearance.

They seized a muddy pair of boots which belonged to Elledge and kept on to them in case they would one day be relevant.

With no evidence tying Elledge to Mengqi’s disappearance, Knight decided to make a bold move after seeing Van Sant’s accumulation of evidence.

Knight charged Elledge with first-degree murder on February 19, 2020, just before Covid “basically shut down the court system” in the United States.

But the case was about to take a major turn, with Elledge sitting in jail on a $50,000 bond.

On March 25, 2021, a hiker in Rock Bridge Memorial State park noticed an unusual shiny object laying in the woods.

The man, Steven Roberts, soon realized he had stumbled across a woman’s purse and began digging around the area.

When he made the horrific discovery of a skull, he immediately called the cops.

Soon after, a coroner would identify the remains as Mengqi Ji’s.

The muddy boots made a comeback to the case as Knight began researching cases that had placed people at the scene of a crime through soil and gravel evidence.

He then realised that tree needles could be the missing link between Elledge’s muddy boot and him being the murderer.

Knight rang the Missouri Botanical Garden, and began the process of DNA testing several juniper tree needles found stuck to the soles of Elledge’s dirty boots.

The garden’s plant geneticist Christine Edwards meticulously removed the pine needles stuck to the sole of the muddy boot while her co worker was tasked with climbing several juniper trees around Mengqi’s grave.

He designated a number to each tree and then picked fresh needles from their highest branches.

“This involved a ladder and a 10, 15-foot-long pole pruner so that we could make sure that the needles that we were getting came from the exact tree,” he told Van Sant.

The DNA from the needles taken from Elledge’s boot was compared to the fresh needles and results showed an exact match to the tree that stands over Mengqi’s makeshift grave.

“DNA from these juniper trees helped solve this crime,” Knight said, with Van Sant claiming he had never seen anything like this before at his entire career at 48 Hours.

Van Sant reports on the case in The Tree That Helped Solve A Murder, which will air Saturday, July 29, at 10/9c on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

DNA matches were found in pine needles attached to Elledge’s boots and the tree which stood above Mengqi’s graveCredit: AP
Joe Elledge’s muddy boot that led cops to catching Mengqi’s murdererCredit: DEFENSE ATTORNEY MATEI STROESCU & DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAN KNIGHT/BOONE COUNTY DA’S OFFICE
Elledge insisted that Mengqi has suddenly disappeared in October 2019Credit: DEFENSE ATTORNEY MATEI STROESCU & DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAN KNIGHT/BOONE COUNTY DA’S OFFICE
Mengqi’s purse and skull was discovered by a hikerCredit: Facebook

Originally Appeared Here

CLARK — At dawn, a few hundred cows follow Greg Judy through a valley to the top of a wooded hill in Clark.

As the sun rises over northern Boone County, Judy calls out to them from an ATV. The slow moving mass of red coats make their way to a 2-acre section of pasture where they’ll eat grass along with the hay Judy spreads out for them.

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Greg Judy stands with his cattle on Monday in Clark. Judy moves his cattle three times a day as part of his practices as a regenerative rancher.

Tess Jagger-Wells/Missourian

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Greg Judy holds up a piece of greenery to show how healthy plant life is on his farm in Clark. “The beautiful thing about what we’re doing here is it requires hardly any fossil fuel,” Judy said.

Tess Jagger-Wells/Missourian

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James Rebanks, left, stands with Greg Judy on Monday in Clark. Rebanks is a British farmer and author who is visiting Judy’s farm to learn more about regenerative farming.

Tess Jagger-Wells/Missourian

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A box of minerals sits in a field Monday in Clark. “Unlike you and me, the cows know exactly which minerals they need,” Judy said.

Tess Jagger-Wells/Missourian

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Greg Judy and his farm manager, Issac Tappenden, stand among the herd in northern Boone County.

Jana Rose Schleis/Missourian

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Originally Appeared Here

Socket Telecom is building out its fiber optic internet infrastructure in western Boone County.

A $2.6 million Missouri broadband infrastructure grant through the Office of Broadband Development in the Missouri Department of Economic Development will allow Socket to build a fiber optic mainline that will have upward of 1,100 connections, equaling about 93 miles of fire optic cables. Socket is providing a matching investment to this American Rescue Plan Act funded program.

“Western Boone County has a desperate need for more reliable and faster internet,” said Kurt Bruemmer, Socket director of business improvement.

It will take roughly a year to construct and lay the mainline. Residential, commercial and governmental connections will come afterward. A map of where the service expansion will take place is available through the Socket website.

The need for a growing fiber internet network became apparent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bruemmer said, such as through working from home, telemedicine and more.

“Socket is committed to improving connectivity in Boone County. We previously have received grants for other parts of the county,” he said, noting this is in northern Boone County and around the areas of Ashland, New Franklin in Howard County, Moberly in Randolph County and Jefferson City in Cole County. “West Boone is an area we always have wanted to serve, and there certainly has been interest by residents, who are considered underserved.”

The portion of Boone County served by the fiber internet expansion is represented by Adrian Plank, D-Columbia, in the 47th district. Broadband was a major topic among constituents when he was campaigning.

“There are a lot of folks who would like to work from home in rural Missouri. As we lose farmers and they are looking to stay where they are from, I think expansion of broadband keeps them viable in those rural communities,” he said.

Socket was founded in 1994 providing dial-up internet services, adjusting to DSL as technology improved. The company started providing fiber internet in 2011. Socket has more than 18,000 fiber internet customers.

“We are just continually building out our fiber footprint here in mid-Missouri and around Missouri. We are active in 22 counties and we have expanded to Clinton, Warrensburg, Sedalia, Rolla and Kirksville and we have more on the horizon,” Bruemmer said.

The person that will be flipping the proverbial switch on is Socket IT Director Dave Sill.

“My department actually lights the fiber with lasers. We handle everything from there on. We make the connections between the customer and the internet,” he said.

Socket is one of 60 service providers to receive the Missouri broadband infrastructure grant, said BJ Tanksley, director of the office of broadband development. The office received more than 300 applications, where the total amount sought was five times the available $265 million grant fund, he said.

“This project is a perfect example of what we hoped to do; work with providers that the people want to partake in, that do great work, that were willing to put their own funding in it, that are able to get to these tough to reach areas and continue to build out from there,” Tanksley said.

More:Missouri awards $260 million in federal dollars for rural broadband internet expansion

There are future opportunities for service expansion in the state now that there is another $1.7 billion pot available for broadband expansion as part of the Connecting All Missourians Campaign, he added.

The federal award is coming through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program. Missouri received the third highest award behind Texas and California, said Amy VanDeVelde, National Telecommunications and Information Administration federal program officer for Missouri in the June broadband stakeholder update.

The federal award “is reflective of the the great need that exists” for broadband service in Missouri, VanDeVelde said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

Originally Appeared Here

Columbia County had $428,212 in Arkansas Scholarship Lottery ticket sales in June, according to a report released July 10 by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration – Office of the Arkansas Lottery. This is down from sales of $459,682 in May.

According to the report, in June Columbia County had prize winnings of $274,258 awarded. This is down from winnings of $281,159 awarded in May.

Statewide, Arkansas had $46,900,568 in lottery ticket sales in June. This is down from sales of $49,363,419 in May. The ASL report stated that in June, Arkansas had $30,379,116 in prize winnings awarded, down from $31,573,372 awarded in May.

The seven neighboring Southwest Arkansas counties surveyed had lottery ticket sales and winnings awarded as follows for the month of June.

Calhoun County had lottery ticket sales of $54,681.50 in June, with winnings of $30,671 awarded.

Hempstead County had lottery ticket sales of $454,594 in June, with winnings of $260,778 awarded.

Lafayette County had lottery ticket sales of $102,526 in June, with winnings of $55,133 awarded.

Miller County had lottery ticket sales of $676,754 in June, with winnings of $395,763 awarded.

Nevada County had lottery ticket sales of $188,107.50 in June, with winnings of $121,068 awarded.

Ouachita County had lottery ticket sales of $769,337.50 in June, with winnings of $485,065 awarded.

Union County had lottery ticket sales of $1,095,368 in June, with winnings of $685,926 awarded.

Columbia County retailers had lottery ticket sales as follows for the month of June.

1. Tobacco Station No. 3, 901 E. Main St., Magnolia, total net sales $99,547.50; average weekly sales $24,886.88.

2. Magnolia Food Mart, 302 Hwy. 79 North, Magnolia, total net sales $54,085.00; average weekly sales $13,521.25.

3. Dixie Mart No. 7289, 407 W. Main St., Magnolia, total net sales $43,764.00; average weekly sales $10,941.00.

4. Dixie Mart No. 7285, 1645 E. Main St., Magnolia, total net sales $36,401.50; average weekly sales $9,100.38.

5. Dixie Mart No. 7287, 1119 S. Jackson St., Magnolia, total net sales $31,772.50; average weekly sales $7,943.13.

6. E-Z Mart No. 4210, 206 W. McKissack St., Waldo, total net sales $25,082.50; average weekly sales $6,270.63.

7. Dixie Mart No. 7286, 1 Warnock Springs Rd., Magnolia, total net sales $24,647.00; average weekly sales $6,161.75.

8. Magnolia Travel Center, 10 Hwy. 82 Bypass West, Magnolia, total net sales $24,338.50; average weekly sales $6,084.63.

9. Sinha Food and Fuel, 402 N. Elm St., Emerson, total net sales $20,724.00; average weekly sales $5,181.00.

10. Rider Express, 2052 N. Jackson St., Magnolia, total net sales $18,094.50; average weekly sales $4,523.63.

11. Dixie Mart No. 7288, 1016 E. Main St., Magnolia, total net sales $15,727.50; average weekly sales $3,931.88.

12. Tobacco Superstore No. 85, 1100 E. Main St., Magnolia, total net sales $14,272.50; average weekly sales $3,568.13.

13. Murphy USA 7824, 58 Hwy. 79 Bypass North, Magnolia, total net sales $14,271.00; average weekly sales $3,567.75.

14. Wal-Mart, No. 83 60 Hwy. 79 North, Magnolia, total net sales $3,404.00; average weekly sales $851.00.

15. Crossroads Corner Store, 2280 Hwy. 79 North, McNeil, total net sales $2,229.00; average weekly sales $557.25

16. Brookshire Food Store No. 81,1623 E. Main St., Magnolia, total net sales $-149.00; average weekly sales $-37.25.

It is noted that Brookshire Food Store had a negative total in net sales and weekly sales. According to a representative with the ASL, retailers with a negative balance cash more lottery tickets than they sell. The ASL pays them every quarter for any negative balance they have.

Originally Appeared Here

After struggling for nearly a year to get federal food assistance to qualified low-income families, Missouri has decided not to participate in this summer’s program — forgoing tens of millions of dollars in federal aid.

The problems administering the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program, or P-EBT, played a major role in the decision not to participate this year. Missouri education officials are not confident new money could be dispersed by a Sept. 30 deadline.

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Originally Appeared Here

COLUMBIA, Mo. — With forage in short supply due to drought, some livestock producers are looking at wheat straw as feed despite its poor nutrient quality.

This leaves wheat farmers asking what the value of their wheat straw is, says University of Missouri Extension agricultural economist Ray Massey. Massey and agriculture economist Joe Horner developed a spreadsheet to help producers decide. Download it at http://muext.us/WheatStrawValue. 

Several considerations determine the real cost and value of wheat straw, Massey says in an Extension news release. First, what nutrients leave the field when straw is baled? What are the effects on organic matter in the soil? Are there negative effects from soil compaction to the wheat field?

It is easiest to estimate the cost of nutrient removal. Massey recommends using published book values such as those from the International Plant Nutrition Institute, at tinyurl.com/56bc6dcb, on the quantity of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur in the straw to estimate the market value to replace removed nutrients with commercial fertilizers. Multiply the amount of nutrient by the value of the nutrient to estimate the value of the straw. Book values may vary by state.

When considering the value of straw to the soil’s fertility, look at the nutrient’s stability, Massey says. Phosphorus and potassium are stable nutrients that, if removed in the stubble, likely reduce soil fertility.

On the other hand, nitrogen content of the straw may have less effect on soil fertility since it is a volatile element. If left on the surface, it may not be available to later crops. Valuing nitrogen may overestimate the cost of replacing the nutrients removed by harvesting the straw.

Massey gives the following example:

A farmer has wheat straw that can be baled and sold. Book values show that every ton of wheat straw contains 15 pounds of N, 3.7 pounds of P2O5, 29 pounds of K2O and 5.4 pounds of S. Local fertilizer prices indicate nutrient prices of 49 cents per pound for N, 69 cents per pound for P2O5, 52 cents per pound for K2O and 82 cents per pound for S.

If nutrients removed affect soil fertility, the total value of nutrients removed equals $29.32 per ton. However, this values all the N in the straw. If all the N in the straw adds nothing to soil N, the N in the straw would not be valued and the total value of nutrients removed becomes $22 per ton.

If the farmer is the person baling the hay, consider adding a custom baling charge to the value of the nutrients removed. If baling costs are estimated at $18 per bale and each bale weighs 1,200 pounds, the value of the straw now becomes $52 per ton ($22/ton for nutrients plus $30/ton baling charge).

Business transactions for creating a profit margin should reward the farmer for the risk and management of the activity. If the farmer wants 15% margin for profit and risk, the value of the straw becomes $59.80 per ton ($52/ton x 1.15 for margin).

“The process above tells the wheat farmer what the soil nutrient value of the straw is,” says Massey. “It does not tell the livestock farmer the feed value of the straw.”

The livestock farmer should research the feed value of the straw to ensure that it exceeds the price the wheat farmer is asking for the straw.

Market Watch Online

Twice daily updates on markets.

Originally Appeared Here

The acts have been revealed for West Columbia’s inaugural Meeting Street Music Fest on Sept. 16.

Far-flung local rock and jazz act The Reggie Sullivan Band (recently announced as also playing this year’s Irmo Okra Strut, also in September) and Turnstiles (billed as “the ultimate tribute to the music of Billy Joel”) will join ‘80s and ‘90s R&B star Meli’sa Morgan at the city-mounted block party — fulfilling the city’s promise that a national artist would take the festival’s headlining slot.

Known for hits like the new-jack-swinging “Fool’s Paradise” and the sheany/steamy ballad “Do Me Baby” (which topped Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks back in 1986), Morgan has remained relatively active since returning from a lengthy hiatus in 2005, releasing new albums in 2005 and 2018 and the single “Footprints of an Angel” in 2022.

Morgan’s selection as the festival’s headliner makes sense given that Chaye Alexander — owner of Meeting Street club Chayz Lounge, which regularly packs its intimate room with acts that play similarly supple styles of jazz and R&B — was among the members of the event’s planning committee.

“I am thrilled about the launch of the Meeting Street Music Fest! What’s even more exciting is that Chayz Lounge is situated in the heart of what is sure to be a memorable event that will bring together music lovers together and have them dancing in the street,” Alexander is quoted in a release. “I have no doubt that the Meeting Street Music Fest will leave a lasting impression on every attendee.”

The city previously told the Chronicle that the planning committee included local community members, business owners and residents.

Chayz Lounge, WECO Bottle and Biergarten, pride bar The Spot on Meeting St. and longstanding bluegrass hub Bill’s Music Shop & Pickin’ Parlor all sit within the festival’s imprint along the 600 and 700 blocks of Meeting Street, positioning the free event, which will go from 4 to 8 p.m., as an opportunity for the city to showcase a recently bustling nightlife district.

“I am excited for the first Meeting Street Music Fest. For decades, West Columbia has been home to a wonderful live music scene,” Mayor Tem Miles is quoted. “I am so proud that this festival will expand the heritage of live music in our city that has been created by New Brookland Tavern, Bill’s Pickin’ Parlor, Chayz Lounge, and Savage Craft Ale Works.”

The festival’s website promises “an abundance of culinary delights, thirst-quenching drinks, and exciting activities” in addition to the live music.

“The Meeting Street Music Fest is a testament to our community’s vibrant spirit and dedication to delivering exceptional experiences,” Council Member Joseph Dickey, whose district runs along the side of Meeting Street that includes Chayz Lounge and The Spot, is quoted. “Excitement surrounding this event has been high and I am encouraging everyone to join us for this momentous occasion to celebrate the universal language of music.”

Keywords

lexington county events,

west columbia concert,

meeting street music fest,

midlands fall festival

Originally Appeared Here