Jefferson City

To Explore a Healthcare Consortium with NAIA Members

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is proud to announce a transformative partnership, naming Winter-Dent & Company as the ‘Official Employee Benefits Partner of the NAIA.’ This partnership marks the beginning of a three-year journey aimed at enhancing healthcare solutions for NAIA member institutions through the exploration of a self-funded healthcare consortium. The initiative aims to empower college presidents within the NAIA to take control of their institutions’ healthcare needs by providing affordable and sustainable options for their students, employees, faculty and universities as a whole. The partnership builds on the NAIA’s recent success in developing a partnership that established a retirement plan consortium which has enabled NAIA institutions to, as a collective, gain access to benefits traditionally reserved for institutions of much larger size.

Winter-Dent is a 100% employee-owned company that brings a breadth of expertise in a myriad of areas in commercial insurance, including but not limited to, extensive experience in employee benefits and self-funded healthcare programs which have helped numerous organizations reach their cultural and financial goals.

“We are excited for the possibilities that Winter-Dent brings to our member institutions,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “Our members can greatly benefit from their expertise amid rising healthcare costs, and we look forward to exploring solutions that strengthen NAIA institutions in the coming years.”

Winter-Dent will also serve as the presenting sponsor for the NAIA Convention Keynote General Session for the term of the agreement.

“On behalf of the Winter-Dent organization, I am thrilled to partner with the NAIA in its efforts to work alongside their institutions to truly make a difference in the healthcare funding space,” said CEO Steve Nicholson. “We look forward to working with the member schools and their leadership teams to bring fresh ideas and perspectives around the possibility of building an employee benefits solution that will be created by the members and for the members.” 

#NAIA#

ABOUT WINTER-DENT Winter-Dent, established in 1912 is headquartered in Jefferson City, MO, with office locations across Missouri. Winter-Dent was founded with the commitment to provide innovative risk mitigation services and solutions to help meet both business and personal financial goals – all without ever losing the human touch. Winter-Dent is proud to be a 100% employee-owned company (ESOP) and serves clientele throughout the United States and around the world. Winter-Dent has specialized service divisions in employee benefits, insurance and risk consulting, surety bonds, and financial services. Their clients range from individuals to some of the largest businesses in the areas they serve. Winter-Dent is known for their proprietary process of comprehensive risk assessment called 4sight, with a goal to become each client’s trusted advisor by providing valuable resources and services beyond mere product placement.

 

ABOUT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS (NAIA) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. NAIA members provide more than 83,000 student-athletes with opportunities to play college sports, earn $1.3 billion in scholarships and compete in 28 national championships. naia.org | @NAIA

 

Originally Appeared Here

A pair of state incentives are helping a St. Louis area construction company expand.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development is hoping to use incentives to encourage similar growth elsewhere.

Gov. Mike Parson and Michelle Hataway, acting director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, appeared Monday with Clayco founder and executive chairman Bob Clark to announce the company’s $50 million investment and expansion in St. Louis.

Clayco is a real estate development, architecture, engineering and construction firm founded in 1984 in St. Louis. It employs more than 1,500 people in Missouri, according to a news release.

Parson said the expansion and creation of 400 new jobs is “a testament to our state’s skilled workforce, strong infrastructure and strategic location.”

“These strengths are what make Missouri’s economy successful,” he said, “even as we continue to make historic investments that are making the Show-Me state even stronger.”

Hataway said Clayco is investing in job creation and supporting industries critical to the state.

“As for the state’s involvement in continued growth, the Department of Economic Development offers programs to help businesses like Clayco grow, expand or locate in our great state,” she said.

Clayco is utilizing the department’s Missouri Works program and the Missouri Development Finance Board’s BUILD program. Missouri Works, a tax credit program to incentivize job creation, will provide more than $14 million as the company hires at least 400 new employees during the next six years.

The BUILD program, which offers incentives that can be applied to a company’s infrastructure or equipment expenses when expanding or locating in Missouri, will provide $3.6 million over 15 years.

Clark, Clayco’s founder, said the state’s support made an easy decision to expand in St. Louis even easier.

“We have projects in 45 cities across North America and I can absolutely say that Missouri is the easiest state to do business in,” he said. “Our employees want to be here, they want to stay here and we’ve been having terrific success recruiting people to the state of Missouri.”

Clark said state and local incentives will help Clayco stay competitive with other construction companies. The company recruits about a third of its workforce from Missouri University of Science & Technology, he added.

Missouri is an “economical place to do business,” Clark said, adding his employees don’t have difficulty affording a home to raise a family. “In some of these other communities, they’re very expensive.”

Parson said investments from major employers, like Clayco, are encouraging and a result of efforts to strengthen Missouri’s economy. Missouri companies have added more than 31,000 jobs so far this year and gained more than 83,000 jobs last year.

“Companies are choosing Missouri thanks to our inviting business climate and our focus on workforce development and infrastructure,” he said, noting the state’s 2.8 percent unemployment rate is lower than the national average.

Boeing, Missouri’s largest manufacturer, is considering a $1.8 billion expansion in St. Louis County. The state is offering more than $37.7 million worth of incentives to support the project, the Department of Economic Development announced in a news release Monday.

Parson said Missouri is also in the running for another company’s $1.5 billion investment.

“These are the kind of things that are happening in Missouri that have never happened before at a time like this,” he said. “I think it’s a lot of things put together; we’re proud of the work we did with the state government partnering with the private sector, and making sure you’re getting kids ready for the workforce of tomorrow.”

    Julie Smith/News photo: Tribune Department of Economic Development acting Director Michelle Hataway, middle, looks on as Bob Clark, left, and Gov. Mike Parson exchange a handshake Monday following the press conference in which it was announced that Clark, founder and executive chairman of Clayco, announced the company will be investing millions of dollars into making St. Louis its business headquarters. Clayco is a firm specialiazing in architecture, engineering and construction. According to Clark, Missouri’s universities are top-notch and the company looks forward to hiring engineering degree graduates of Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.
  

Originally Appeared Here

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis region is stuck in a child care deficit — a longstanding problem made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic — forcing parents to make difficult trade-offs around their work and education, and leaving employers with fewer workers in an already tight labor market.

Now child care providers, business groups and community organizations are calling for better funding for care statewide to improve early child development, ensure parents are able to pursue work and school, and boost the economy.

Heidi Geisbuhler Sutherland, director of legislative affairs for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, said that in her organization’s annual survey of CEOs, around 80% said they were worried that child care shortages were keeping people out of the workforce.

She said the concern was represented across the state, in urban, suburban and rural areas.

Stacy Johnson, chief program officer and Head Start director for the YWCA Metro St. Louis, said the issue is connected to labor shortages and pay. Some child care workers were willing to work for lower wages before the pandemic, but are now calling for a raise, she said.

Johnson said her program has more than 460 children on waitlists for child care, because of worker shortages.

“This is the employees’ market right now,” Johnson said. “They have choices.”

In a study of Missouri’s child care situation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation surveyed more than 300 parents of children under the age of 6.

Twenty-eight percent said that in the past year they or someone in their household had left a job, turned down a job, or made a significant change in their work because of problems with child care.

The survey found that low and middle-income households here spend around $445 to $622 per month on child care. High-income households spend over $880.

“It’s important to know that there are a lot of initiatives going around in our state,” Johnson said. “People are coming together, trying to find solutions. But everything, we know, is going to cost money.”

Paula-Breonne Vickers, director of early childhood power building at WEPOWER, a local group focused on economic empowerment for disadvantaged communities, pushed back on the often-used term “child care desert.”

“’Desert’ is a very kind way to address what this is,” Vickers said. “There is an opportunity to fix it — a desert is naturally occurring.”

The issue has been a subject of debate in Jefferson City this year. In January, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson asked lawmakers to back tax credit programs that would help fund providers, assist employers who offer child care assistance, and boost pay for child care workers. But the Legislature closed out its session in May without approving the proposal.

Despite COVID still going around and the fact that it likely will indefinitely, for many the pandemic is just a horrible memory. However, despite the global society shattering effects of the novel coronavirus, it did have benefits for some, including the $24 billion in federal pandemic relief for child care. But the year is now 2023 and that has just run out. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.

ZMG – Veuer

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JEFFERSON CITY — The state treasurer is touting growth in the state’s fledgling private school voucher program, but he’s focusing on the number of recipients and not donors.

In a press release Thursday, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek said that 1,487 vouchers — valued at $9.5 million — have been awarded by the MOScholars program this school year, surpassing last year’s total of 1,361.

Malek

Office of the Missouri Governor

But records provided to the Post-Dispatch by the treasurer’s office show only about 800 of the vouchers have been paid with state tax credits totaling $5.2 million. The remainder of the vouchers were prefunded by religious nonprofits certified by the state to collect, manage and distribute the tax credits to students.

Demand for the program is strong, but the fundraising mechanism is challenging, said Ray Bozarth, a spokesman for the treasurer. The bulk of the tax credits are expected to arrive in November and December, several months after school started.

“Treasurer Malek didn’t write the bill, but it’s his job to promote and to grow it,” Bozarth said.

Malek was appointed to treasurer in December 2022 by Gov. Mike Parson to replace Scott Fitzpatrick, then the newly elected auditor. Malek, who is running for treasurer in 2024, is “deeply passionate about education and school choice” and has “aggressively promoted MOScholars across the state,” according to the press release from his office.

The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation of the Archdiocese of St. Louis is one of the groups that paid upfront for a portion of its MOScholars recipients. The foundation plans to get reimbursed through soliciting $3 million in tax credits by the end of December to fund a total of 435 scholarships, said Julie Soffner, its executive director.

The school voucher law was signed by Gov. Mike Parson in 2021 and launched in fall of 2022. The program offers up to $6,375 for tuition and other eligible expenses to low-income families and students with learning disabilities in larger cities and counties including St. Louis city and St. Louis, Jefferson and St. Charles counties. Residents and businesses can receive a credit of up to 50% of state tax liability for their donations to the program.

State Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, sponsored the MOScholars legislation and said lawmakers might examine the timeframe for donations because of the gap between the start of school and the end of the year.

Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters

Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications

“But I think the good news is we’re on track to raise as much as we did last year for the program if not more,” he said. “December is our best month for raising donations.”

Christofanelli said he would like to see private school choice funded through the state budget in addition to relying on donated tax credits. Donations to MOScholars in 2023 are below 20% of the $27 million cap.

“I think a hybrid approach would provide us the most security,” Christofanelli said.

The Missouri Constitution bars public funding for religious schools, but the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 struck down a similar law in Maine that excluded most religious schools from that state’s voucher program.

Last year, nearly half of the $9.3 million in tax credits collected for MOScholars was raised by the Herzog Tomorrow Foundation in Smithville and distributed to 600 students. So far this year, the Christian educational foundation has raised $1.1 million and issued 178 vouchers.

Elizabeth Roberts, spokeswoman for Herzog, said the foundation is “on track for a strong year and will continue issuing scholarships through the end of the calendar year in accordance with state statute.”

The Bright Futures Fund of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has distributed the most vouchers this year by far with 734, mostly to Catholic school students in the region.

School choice lobbyists American Federation for Children have pushed for vouchers as a way to save Catholic schools that are struggling with low enrollment and debt. The group’s “Catholic Schools Project” aims to “influence legislative bodies across the country to keep Catholic schools open,” according to its website.

The top MOScholars school is Nativity of Mary in Independence, where 63 out of 159 students received vouchers worth a total of more than $400,000. The Catholic parish attached to the grade school is about $921,000 in debt, according to a recent church bulletin.

“We are not paying all of our bills every month,” wrote the Rev. Bryan Amthor in the bulletin. “While things may be tough, there is much hope … MOScholars is bringing new students and guaranteed funding into our school.”

The St. Louis-area school with the most voucher students is Torah Prep Jewish Day School in University City with 49.

Josh Renaud of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

While the importance of teachers cannot be understated, educators are among the most overworked and underpaid in society.

unbranded – Lifestyle

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JEFFERSON CITY — At least one of the tax preparation companies being sued for allegedly sharing Missourians’ financial data has settled its case with the state.

TaxAct, based in Iowa, agreed to pay $195,000 and tighten its data-sharing capabilities in an order issued Monday.

Under the agreement, which was approved by St. Louis Circuit Judge Judge Michael Stelzer, TaxAct shall not disclose any consumer tax information without first obtaining the consent of the taxpayer.

TaxAct, which was represented in court by former Gov. Jay Nixon, was among three companies sued by Missouri in July.

The lawsuit was filed by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey just a day after a group of Democrats in Congress reported that the three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years.

Their report urged federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that the companies shared with the social media giant.

The lawsuit alleges that H&R Block, TaxSlayer and TaxAct violated state consumer protection laws by sharing the information.

The allegations claimed the tax preparation firms made information available to Meta and other companies “despite explicitly promising not to share such information with third parties in their privacy policies.”

The lawsuit said the companies gave Meta access to information such as names and financial information such as savings account contributions.

That, the lawsuit said, violates Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act, which prohibits misrepresentation, omission, deception and unfair business practices.

The state is seeking restitution for Missourians who may have had their data used. It also asks for a civil fine and a payment to the state equal to 10% of the amount recouped from restitution.

H&R Block, which is based in Kansas City, is seeking a change of venue in the case from the city court system to Jackson County and is seeking to be separated from TaxSlayer as the suit goes forward.

TaxSlayer, based in Georgia, argued in briefs filed last month that Bailey’s case is flawed and is seeking to dismiss the state’s claim for restitution.

“(T)he Attorney General does not allege that TaxSlayer profited in any way from the alleged conduct. For example, the Attorney General does not allege that Meta, Google, or anyone else paid TaxSlayer for its use of pixels or for any information collected from pixels. Nor does the Attorney General allege that TaxSlayer obtained additional customers as a result of the use of pixels,” attorneys for the company said.

In addition, company attorneys said, “There is no assertion that the alleged disclosure of information via the use of pixels impacted the quality or value of the tax preparation services received by Missouri consumers.”

A hearing on transferring the case to another circuit is scheduled for Nov. 28.

According to Money Talks News, the IRS has announced it is “taking steps” to trial a new free tax preparation and filing service next year. Despite finer details still unreleased, the pilot program would allow taxpayers to prepare and file their returns without incurring costs to do so. PennyGem’s Chloe Hurst has the story! 

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Gov. Mike Parson supports buying the Missouri Department of Transportation headquarters, at 105 W. Capitol Ave., seen here on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. 

Kurt Erickson, Post-Dispatch

JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson’s administration is pursuing a plan to buy a building Missouri taxpayers already own without publicly sharing any information about its condition. 

The price tag for the 1920s-era Missouri Department of Transportation headquarters could be as high as $50 million.

Amid ongoing discussions over a long-sought rehabilitation of Missouri’s century-old state Capitol building, Parson told the Post-Dispatch that he supports a plan to buy the MoDOT facility located just steps away from the seat of state government.

“If there is ever an opportunity to do that probably now is the time,” Parson said. “I hope that it gets done. I’m a supporter of that.”

However, the governor’s own Office of Administration, which manages state-owned buildings and oversees state payroll, does not have any records showing the condition of the facility, said spokesman Chris Moreland.

Officials also don’t have any reports showing how much deferred maintenance is needed to keep the building from crumbling, Moreland said.

MoDOT, too, has not shared any documentation showing the building’s condition.

“I’m sorry I don’t have any information on this,” agency spokeswoman Linda Horn told the Post-Dispatch last month.

But, Moreland confirmed that talks about the purchase are moving forward.

“OA has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the Missouri Department of Transportation concerning the acquisition of the MoDOT General Headquarters and annex buildings located within the State Capitol Complex,” he said.

Discussions about the building come as a commission that oversees the Capitol is attempting to move forward on a $755 million makeover of the Capitol building.

A vote to move forward on the renovation has been delayed while the MoDOT discussions play out.

Senate Administrator Patrick Baker, who chairs the Missouri Capitol Commission, said the panel may not meet again until after the start of the legislative session in January.

“That will give everyone plenty of time to get all the information they need,” Baker said.

The MoDOT headquarters, home to about 400 employees, is part of a complex of government buildings that dot Jefferson City and employ thousands of state workers.

The building is controlled by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, which is funded separately from the rest of state government via the constitution.

Supporters of the purchase say the building was constructed using money from gasoline taxes, not general tax revenue that flows into state coffers.

Under one scenario, MoDOT would move out of the building to other facilities in the state to make way for other potential uses. In the past, officials have debated moving some legislative and administrative offices currently housed in the Capitol into the transportation building.

“I think if you really want to do something long term… that’s really the best opportunity we have,” Parson said. “I think that’s the only facility we’re ever going to get to make sure we can expand the Capitol complex.”

Plans for the century-old Capitol, which have been under discussion since 2016, include the removal of parking in the Capitol basement and the replacement of the current parking structure used by the Senate with additional spaces for both the executive branch and the general public.

The building would gain an estimated 100,000 square feet of space for lawmakers by extending the basement south toward High Street, which is Jefferson City’s main downtown street.

There also could be an underground visitor center on the north side of the Capitol that could be the entry point for the estimated 450,000 people who visit the building annually.

The plan would move some of the executive branch operations, such as the governor’s budget office, out of the Capitol to nearby state office buildings.

Missouri education commissioner’s resignation reignites debate on public schools

Missouri sued again over meatpacking sludge

New Missouri Supreme Court judge ensures female majority on the bench

Photographs from St. Louis Post-Dispatch staff for the week beginning Oct. 15, 2023. Video by Beth O’Malley

Beth O’Malley

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JEFFERSON CITY — For the second time in three months, Gov. Mike Parson’s administration is being sued over its handling of permits for a company that spreads sludge from meatpacking facilities onto farm fields.

A group of residents in Newton County, located in southwest Missouri, filed a 22-page environmental lawsuit Oct. 29 against the Missouri Department of Natural Resources 10 days after 6,000 gallons of slaughterhouse waste leaked into ditches and fields near Fairview.

The lawsuit asks a judge to order DNR to require Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions to “cease any and all activities and operations” at any facility it uses to store waste.

“By allowing Denali to construct and operate each of the earthen basins without requiring Denali to obtain a construction permit… (DNR) is exceeding its lawful authority and failing to comply with its nondiscretionary legal duty,” the lawsuit says.

The legal action comes as a judge has already barred DNR from issuing a permit to Denali for an animal waste lagoon in Randolph County, located north of Columbia, after citizens there banded together in response to concerns about odors, land degradation and water pollution.

That case, as well as the new lawsuit, reveals regulatory loopholes  in how the state issues permits for companies that collect waste from meatpacking facilities.

Previously, the material was classified as fertilizer, but a change in policy earlier this year has moved oversight to DNR, which is grappling with reports of leaks and spills and odors.

Denali has said it is a “soil preparation” company, but also has received permits in Arkansas as a “refuse” company, resulting in questions over which state environmental laws should apply to the permitting process.

The practice has become controversial among rural residents at the same time Parson, a cattle farmer, has led the charge to expand meatpacking facilities in Missouri.

Along with concerns about Denali’s practices, property owners in St. Charles County have expressed concern about wastewater discharges from a new beef processing facility being built near Wright City.

In that case, the American Foods Group meat plant, expected to bring 1,300 jobs to the region to process as many as 2,400 cattle per day, is planning to pump its treated wastewater into a creek that flows into Lake Saint Louis.

DNR is reviewing the company’s permit request.

DNR spokeswoman Connie Patterson said the agency had not yet been served with the lawsuit and could not comment.

But, DNR has taken action against Denali in other spill incidents.

In July, Denali agreed to pay $30,000 in fines related to a McDonald County spill and is pursuing action on a separate spill in early October near Noel.

In the latest event, DNR began investigating a spill from the Fairview-area lagoon on Oct. 20.

Denali said in a statement to the Joplin Globe that the break occurred on a hose that was transporting liquid food processing residuals from a storage basin to a field. The substance was being spread as a fertilizer on cropland.

“These food processing residuals are non-hazardous byproducts of wastewater treatment from nearby food facilities,” according to the statement. “The consistency of the material is similar to a milkshake. Because it contains significant amounts of nitrogen, it is a valuable soil amendment for farmers.”

The company vacuumed up the material with a pumper truck and spread new gravel on a road impacted by the spill.

Denali did not respond to a request for comment.

Lawmakers could wade into the dispute next year.

Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, earlier raised red flags about the company’s practices.

“I know we’re an agricultural state, and I realize people like to eat. But I am concerned about it,” she told the Post-Dispatch.

Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin addresses reporters Thursday after taking the helm of the GOP caucus. Video by Jack Suntrup/Post-Dispatch

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A St. Louis lawmaker is demanding that Missouri regulators investigate what she called an “egregious exploitation” of social cannabis equity licenses, following a report by The Independent last week about a company that recruited out-of-state license applicants on Craigslist. 

State Sen. Karla May, a St. Louis Democrat, sent a letter on Thursday to the state’s Division of Cannabis Regulation and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey demanding action.

Voters approved the microbusiness program last November, as a provision in the constitutional amendment that legalized recreational marijuana. May wrote that the program was intended to “rectify past injustices” of marijuana criminalization. 

“I condemn these actions as an affront to the principles that guided the citizens’ initiative,” May stated. “The people of Missouri spoke loud and clear in their support for a fair, inclusive cannabis industry that addresses historical disparities. It is disheartening to see bad actors attempt to exploit the system for personal gain, undermining the very opportunities we sought to create.”

May’s letter was sent hours after The Independent published a story revealing that a Michigan real estate group, Canna Zoned MLS, offered to pay eligible people to enter lotteries awarding social equity licenses in Illinois and Missouri. 

But two applicants told The Independent that they didn’t realize the company’s contracts forced them to relinquish all control and profits of the business, according to an agreement they said they signed. 

On Oct. 2, the state issued 48 licenses to the winners of a lottery that determined who gets to participate in Missouri’s microbusiness program. Of the 16 dispensary licenses awarded, the Michigan group obtained two of them — one in Columbia and the other in Arnold.

“The schemes orchestrated by these applicants potentially involve fraudulent activities,” May said, “gaming the system to secure licenses through the exploitation of legacy advantages that the ballot language aimed to mitigate.” 

Jeffrey Yatooma, the designated contact on licenses associated with the Michigan group, told The Independent last week that the group rejects “any allegations that we have defrauded the state.” Any final agreements with partners in Missouri, he said, “will absolutely comply with all state laws and regulations.” 

In response to May’s letter, Yatooma told The Independent he stands by his previous statements.

Division of Cannabis Regulation Director Amy Moore responded to May in a letter Friday morning. 

Moore said the division shares the senator’s desire that the program be “implemented exactly as designed and that no unscrupulous actors be allowed to subvert the law.” 

“In fact, the law itself anticipated the need to investigate whether microbusiness licenses were awarded to eligible applicants post licensure,” she said, “and we are currently conducting that mandated verification process.”

Moore said the division’s “post-licensure verification” for the 48 license winners will be completed in early December, followed by a public report of the results.

“If we determine that an application was false or misleading in any way, the license issued based on that application may be revoked,” Moore said. 

The division has broad authority to conduct investigations.

Under a new rule that went into effect on July 30, the department now has the power to issue subpoenas directly to licensed marijuana businesses and third parties during an investigation to obtain records and information. 

“Applicants and licensees must cooperate in any investigation conducted by the department,” the rules state.

In her letter, Moore said that if the division uncovers activity “that is of concern but outside our jurisdiction, we will refer that information to the appropriate authority.”

The attorney general’s office, which also received the letter, did not respond to a request for comment. 

After reading The Independent’s article, state Rep. Ashley Bland-Manlove, a Kansas City Democrat, called the actions “predatory and criminal.” 

“I encourage all states involved to revoke any licenses issued and reissue them to actual residents who qualify,” she said. “I’d like to see criminal charges for the lawyers who created the contacts and whomever created the Craigslist posts for fraud.” 

Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, said it’s up to the division’s verification process to make sure the laws and rules were followed. 

“Article 14 of the Missouri Constitution entrusts the agency to run this voter-approved program effectively,” he said, “and we hope they live up to that.”

Originally Appeared Here

Struggling reader gets help at Center for Reading, goes on to become neuroscientist

From Pittsburg State University

Years ago, the Bauer Family traveled to Pittsburg from Switzerland, but they weren’t coming as tourists. They were seeking help for their young son, Joel, who was struggling to read. They found it at the Center for Reading, based on the campus of Pittsburg State University.

The Center was founded in 1996 by Dr. David Hurford, a psychology professor who developed a system to provide evaluation, science-based intervention, and advocacy services for those with dyslexia, all based on best practices.

What is dyslexia?

“It’s a language-based learning disability,” Hurford said. “It’s characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, poor spelling, and poor decoding skills.”

Joel is not alone — approximately 20 percent of the general population has dyslexia, making it the most common specific learning disability.

Individuals with dyslexia and other reading difficulties are more likely to drop out of high school and experience a negative self-image. Specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia are often associated with lower academic achievement, lower income, higher rates of suicidality, and higher rates of unemployment.

Today, the Center has become a state, regional, and national resource and a national model for its work to diagnose and help youth who have it.

And Joel?

He recently defended his doctoral dissertation in neurology at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and moved to London for a career in neurological research.

“Pretty good for a non-reader, huh?” said Hurford.

Joel’s story began in early elementary school when he mixed up letters, “backwards and forwards,” his dad, Hans-Peter, recalled.

“He had an over-average ability for memory and visual images — very strong,” he said. “But letters, they gave him challenges.”

Hans-Peter researched programs that could help and in doing so, learned about Hurford’s.

“I wrote to him, and while Kansas is not a place you’d go as a tourist from Switzerland, we decided to spend our summer holiday there and combine it with a few weeks of this course,” Hans-Peter said.

That was in 1999.

“We went to a museum, we went to a rodeo, we saw a typical American city,” Hans-Peter said. “What we found at the Center for Reading was anything but typical.”

The family, which included Joel’s mother Marcella and his brother, Emmanuel, went to Whitesitt Hall for a few hours each day.

There, they received one-on-one guidance from staff trained in Hurford’s strategies.

“They also had a way of engaging Joel’s brother in some of the activities so Joel didn’t feel so alone,” Hans-Peter said.

In the years that followed, Joel learned to manage the disability and was served by a strong support system. He completed high school, attended college, and gained confidence.

“That was important, as a child,” Joel said. “I also learned to take a different approach. To tailor it. I began using a computer for writing, because it was easier to make corrections. I adjusted by attitude to be OK with reading a bit more slowly.”

He went on to study neuroscience in the United Kingdom and chose research as his vocation, spending eight years in a lab in Munich studying visual and information processing — to understand how neuro circuits process information, and how they maintain the ability to do that over time as brains age.

“If we want to understand how the brain works in general, we have to understand its functions and adaptations,” he said.

After earning his doctorate degree, he’s working with two professors in London to reconstruct images that a mouse sees using neural data and recordings. He’ll analyze it to determine how a visual representation can change.

Hans-Peter is proud.

“I’m happy and impressed at what he has achieved so far,” he said. “Parents of children who are Dyslexic should go by examples: There are Nobel Prize holders, many successful people, who have this.”

“When people like David Hurford and well-informed teachers have the tools to measure the degree of it and the tools to help support and correct it, it is just a characteristic of a person rather than a huge problem.”

“This is not something to be scared of, to ostracize people for — it’s merely a way a brain functions,” he said. “You should not try to eliminate your weaknesses, but see them as a fact, then analyze them, figure out how to work with them. Then, work to build up your strengths.”

“That attitude is important for parents of others like Joel to know, and for teachers to know. We were lucky to know David.”

In the years since Joel’s visit, The Center for Reading has also grown and developed: It employs a full-time director, trains educators and school staff in the science of reading, engages in and publishes research, and assists in advocacy efforts related to dyslexia and other reading disabilities.

About one-third of students in the United States can read grade level material competently. In Kansas, 69 percent of fourth graders are unable to read challenging grade-level material proficiently. Assessment results indicate students’ reading skills and their confidence in reading skills have declined since the pandemic.

Hurford’s team includes:

• Michaela Ozier, director of the Center for Reading

• Alex Fender, director of Evaluation

• Thomas Hurford, director of Intervention & Professional Development

• Mea De La Torre, Robert Cordova, Abagail Houston, Jaidyn Leech, and Anthony Schettler, graduate research assistants

• Megan Loudermilk, Taylor Hurt, Amy Marcoux, Jared Parsons, Grace Schmidt, Rianna Morrone, Mallory Draper, Elliot Dugerson, Rebekah Sheward, Amiah Hampton, Tymaya Jones, Jaylynn Ellerbe-Cundiff, Caroline Blackford, Tess Scroggins, Charissa Robertson, and Alyssa Strader, interventionists

Learn more about the Center for Reading, dyslexia, and arrange for services at pittstate.edu/Reading.

MDC reports Missouri hunters harvested 12 black bears this season

From the Missouri Department of Conservation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports that Missouri hunters harvested 12 black bears during the state’s third bear-hunting season, Oct. 16–25.

More than 5,370 hunters applied during May for 400 permits for the season with the maximum total harvest being 40 bears. Of the 400 hunters selected through a random drawing of all applicants, 342 hunters purchased permits for the season.

Bear hunting in Missouri is limited to Missouri residents and restricted to three designated areas of southern Missouri called Bear Management Zones. Each permit issued is for a specific BMZ and hunting is limited to public or private property within the BMZ.

Nine bears were harvested in BMZ 1 out of a maximum of 20 with 173 hunters purchasing permits to hunt the zone. Three bears were harvested in BMZ 2 out of a maximum of 15 with 125 hunters purchasing permits to hunt the zone. No bears were harvested in BMZ 3 out of a maximum of 5 with 44 hunters purchasing permits to hunt the zone.

All bears were harvested using firearms methods. Of the 12 bears harvested, three were boars (males) and nine were sows (female).

“We had another successful black bear hunting season this year and saw bears harvested in four new counties where bears had not been previously harvested,” said MDC Bear Biologist Nate Bowersock. “Conditions this season couldn’t have been much better for hunters, and we look forward to hearing from hunters about their experiences through our annual post-season survey.”

Learn more about Missouri black bears and bear hunting in Missouri at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/bear.

Originally Appeared Here

Dr. Raymond Weaver was a man of great energy who engaged in several professional activities during his life.

Born in 1899 on his father’s successful Lone Elm Stock Farm approximately three miles west of Enon, Weaver came of age the youngest of six children and attended the local one-room Grant School. With his home located near small creeks and ponds, he acquired a penchant for fishing at an early age that lasted throughout his lifetime.

By the time he reached 20 years of age, Weaver had supplemented his agricultural work on his father’s farm by becoming a private detective, as verified by an advertisement in the Moniteau County Plat book from 1920.

His grandchildren are uncertain as to the specific activities he was hired to investigate, but it is suspected that because of Enon’s proximity to the Bagnell Branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Rock Island Railroad in Eldon, he investigated railroad-related crimes.

“On October 22, Miss Bessie A. Williams, daughter of Wm. E. Williams, was married to Raymond E. Weaver,” reported the Eldon Advertiser on Oct. 28, 1920. “Mr. Weaver is the son of W.A. Weaver, one of the most prosperous farmers of this (Enon) community. Raymond and his wife will reside on the farm recently purchased from Raymond’s father.”

His work as a private detective, in addition to farming endeavors, did not satisfy his lofty ambitions and he chose to pursue a course of education that might provide a greater income.

“In August 1931, Dr. Raymond Elwood and Bessie Alberta Williams Weaver came to Russellville …” explained the souvenir book printed for Russellville’s sesquicentennial in 1988. “Dr. Weaver had just graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Missouri.”

It continued, “They had three children at that time: Irma Lee, Norma June, and Raymond Vern. Dr. Weaver performed chiropractic in his home office above the Farmer’s and Merchants Bank at the corner of Railroad Avenue and McDavitt Street for a short time … (and later) moved his family practice to 205 McDavitt, where he also served as Cole County Coroner from 1932 to 1936.”

Their fourth and final child, Carl Duane, was born in 1934. Six years later, Weaver purchased a nearby property, tearing down the house that stood there and building a new home for his family that also served as an office for his many pursuits.

The new Weaver home also “included his Chiropractic Office and Income Tax Service and Estate Settlement Service for area residents,” the sesquicentennial book added.

Weaver later became a charter MFA insurance agent on March 1, 1946, adding to his repertoire of many professional services.

“During all of this, he was also a state revenue registration agent,” said his grandson, Dennis Jungmeyer. “People would come to his office to get a chiropractic adjustment and would pay their vehicle license registrations at the same time. Then he would take the paperwork into his office in Jefferson City and have it processed for them.”

Jungmeyer had many wonderful opportunities to share time with his grandfather, often helping him work in his vegetable garden and fulfilling the role of a “packhorse” on fishing trips.

“Grandpa Doc was an avid fisherman, but it seemed like he never wanted to fish anywhere that was convenient,” Jungmeyer recalled. “We’d go and park down by the Rockhouse Bridge (north of Russellville) and I’d carry his five or six fishing poles while we walked a couple of miles to a fishing spot, passing several great spots along the way.”

He added, “Grandpa Weaver would carry with him a box of nickel-a-piece King Edward cigars and smoked them while we fished.”

Jungmeyer’s recollections also include memories of his grandfather designating a section of his home as a retail outlet for fishing tackle. Additionally, he sold beef and honey, and later opened a drug store inside his home office.

Weaver purchased a 20-acre property a short distance west of Russellville that had a home and a small lake, where he decided to move his family. He continued to use his previous home in Russellville as an office and in 1954 built an addition for his wife to use as a sundries shop.

He became involved in local politics and civic affairs, serving as a treasurer, councilman and mayor for Russellville, and in his spare time helped establish the Russellville Lions Club. The Weaver family was also dedicated to their Christian faith, attending the United Methodist Church in Russellville.

In 1965, he turned his Income Tax Service over to his daughter, Norma June Jungmeyer, which she operated through 1985, according to the Russellville sesquicentennial book.

The doctor’s first wife, Bessie, died in 1971 and during the summer of 1972, he married Louise Kusgen. Weaver was 74 years old when he died in 1974 and was laid to rest alongside his first wife in the High Point Cemetery, not far from the farm where he had been born and raised.

The home that once housed his sundry businesses for several years became an insurance and realty office for his daughter and son-in-law, but has since reverted to use as a single-family home. The home he later purchased west of town has been demolished and the property cleared.

Many area residents still share stories and recollections of Weaver, affirming that despite the amount of time he invested in being successful in his many business endeavors, he was community-minded and well-respected.

“My grandfather was absolutely the best joke-teller in five counties and people enjoyed being around him,” Dennis Jungmeyer said. “He just had an amazing energy level and was successful at everything he did, but he wasn’t arrogant about it.”

He added, “He wore many hats and everything he did connected him to people in his community. He loved being around people, and people loved him.”

Jeremy P. Ämick is the author of “Moments on the Moreau.”

Courtesy/Kevin Jungmeyer
Raymond Weaver was born in 1899 on a farm three miles west of Enon and is pictured in 1920 when serving as a private investigator. In later years, he moved to Russellville, where he worked in many business roles such as a chiropractor, small-scale farmer and insurance agent.

Originally Appeared Here