Jefferson City

The city of Grand Rapids has approved plans for a 15-year-old theater that closed during the pandemic to start its next chapter in Heritage Hill.

The Grand Rapids Planning Commission at its Thursday meeting unanimously approved a special land use request from Jay Harnish, co-founder and president of Dog Story Theater, to open a theater at 340 State St. SE in Heritage Hill.

Dog Story Theater was founded in 2008 and closed its previous location at 7 Jefferson Ave. SE during the pandemic because of the expense of maintaining a lease during lockdown when gatherings were prohibited. 

The nonprofit does not have its own troupe but rather hosts other theater companies and performance arts groups, providing a “safe place” for marginalized groups to express themselves, as Harnish previously told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

“This is a storefront theater model, and it’s uniquely Grand Rapids in that it’s not just its own theater company … (it) provides access to space for smaller theater companies, for people to put on shows, for playwrights to be able to produce their own show, (or) for actors in college to get together and do a new Shakespeare show,” Harnish told the planning commission Thursday. “It offers that opportunity — an entry level or an easier barrier to get through — to the smaller groups that don’t have a lot of finances to start up.”

In addition to hosting plays, Dog Story’s new location will be used for “small non-amplified orchestral concerts, children’s choirs, performance art, artist galleries, comedy and educational talks,” according to the special land use application.

Proposed public hours of operation for the theater are 7-10:15 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, with private event bookings available 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, according to Harnish’s application.

Dog Story will sell concessions but will not serve alcohol except during private, biannual fundraising events, per the planning commission’s conditions of approval.

The venue will maintain a volunteer staff of one to three individuals, including a box office manager, stage manager and production manager/audiovisual engineer. 

Planning Commissioners Kristine Bersche and Laurel Joseph both voiced support for the project prior to the vote.

“I think this is a great use of the building. I think it’s appropriate for where it is. … It’s a very walkable space, with plenty of public transportation,” Bersche said.

The project also received letters of support from a resident of the block and the Heritage Hill Association. One resident opposed the project over parking concerns.

 

Renovations

Dog Story signed a lease on the 1,888-square-foot space in August. The 123-year-old, approximately 3,600-square-foot building is owned by Ling Chen, who also is owner-operator of Beijing Kitchen, at 342 State St. SE in the same building.

Travis Williams, founding principal of Parallel Architects + Builders, is the designing the interior renovations, which will be minimal and include adding a barrier-free single-occupant restroom, janitor’s closet, rear egress doors, performance area with seating, and a backstage area with a dressing room and two bathrooms, per Harnish’s project application.

Plans call for an initial capacity of 68 seats, with a future expansion up to 84 seats.

Harnish said the build-out will include soundproofing to avoid disturbing the neighbors. 

Bids have not gone out to contractors yet for the construction.

Dog Story plans to leave the building exterior untouched, except for signage changes, which will need to be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission as the building is in the Heritage Hill historic district.

 

Parking

Harnish also sought a parking waiver, as the building has no onsite parking, and 0.25 spaces per seat are required for assembly use. 

The planning commission granted the request, as the hours for the theater will coincide with low-use periods for parking in the surrounding area. The venue is also near bus lines and other street parking, commissioners said.

“If you go downtown, to the theater at DeVos (Performance Hall), you’re walking many blocks,” Joseph said. “I’m not concerned about the parking here. I think their plan is laid out well. … I think it’s a great use of the space in this location in the city.”

Harnish added that Dog Story Theater has an established relationship with Catholic Charities West Michigan and may be able to use its lot at 40 Jefferson Ave. SE, as performances will occur after regular business hours for the nonprofit.

He also is in talks with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Health and Human Services Department about using their parking across the street, at 311 State St. SE.

Harnish estimates initial attendance on show nights will be about 50 people.

Originally Appeared Here

The Missouri River Regional Library did everything wrong in its campaign to raise taxes for building a third floor, a frequent patron said.

In fact, Melody Lawson said the library should sue whoever advised the institution during its campaign efforts. She said she frequently volunteered for the school district she used to live in and was heavily involved in its campaigns to raise taxes.

The library held the first of three listening sessions Tuesday evening in its gallery space in the hopes of receiving feedback from community members on expanding library service, as well as the August election that would have raised its tax levy for building a third floor. Voters in the Cole County’s library district voted down the measure by a wide margin.

Some of the mistakes the library made during the special election that Lawson summarized included the fact that some residents will just vote against any proposition involving taxes, and that casual “yes” voters are less likely to go to the polls in a special election.

But August elections have worked for other libraries in Missouri before, Assistant Director of Marketing and Development Natalie Newville said.

“I don’t think we picked the wrong time,” she said.

The library should have publicized the tax levy differently, Lawson said. It should have promoted the levy increase at least once a month on every mass media platform in Cole County, such as radio talk shows and TV stations, and especially right before the election.

She also found fault with other campaign materials from the library. For example, she said the design graphics made the renovated building look too much like a completely new building. The library should have focused more on telling voters the exact amount their taxes would go up, she said.

Another point Lawson made was that the library did not offer enough perks to voters outside Jefferson City during the campaign. The facility needs to “offer something to everybody” throughout the county, Lawson said, even if it is just “a little kiosk at the mall.”

Lawson suggested holding an election during a presidential or gubernatorial election year to increase “yes” votes. Furthermore, packaging a tax levy increase as a bond issue may attract more supporters. She explained that was because when such an issue expires in a few decades, most of the voters who voted for the original tax rise will have died or moved away.

“That type of a plan would have been better to sell to the public,” Lawson said. “People like to believe that (a tax) is going to end.”

She would like to see the library mail out its informational material to every household in the Cole County library district. She did not think many people would seek out facts about the library or its plans online or through other means, she said.

During this event, local residents, library board and staff members talked about parking issues as well. Lawson suggested turning the basement into an underground garage. But another library user, Janet Roark, said she could usually find parking when she visited the library during the day.

Roark shared that some of her relatives did not support the levy increase because the tax hike did not contain a sunset clause. Meanwhile, she said, some other people were not users of the library and were thus uninterested in it.

The library can attract a larger variety of people to use the facility by hosting different events, such as meetings for scouts or even a UFO club, Lawson said.

The next two listening sessions will take place from 2-4 p.m. Oct. 18 and from 9-11 a.m. Oct. 30. The library is holding all the events this month because the library board has only met twice since the election.

In the meantime, the facility’s maintenance department has been collecting bids from construction company to see what critical issues the library can afford to address, Newville said.

“We’ll just take all the feedback that the community is giving us and take it to the board,” Newville said. “It’s always good to have people come in and give their opinions.”

Originally Appeared Here

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey expects to finally complete work on public records requests submitted to the office under his predecessor by the end of the year. 

A review by The Independent of the massive Sunshine Law backlog — which stood at 315 pending requests on Friday — found inquiries from reporters and political operatives, as well as a litany of requests from Missourians seeking information about things like consumer protection investigations or details on how the office conducts business.

‘Black hole’: Public faces long delays obtaining records from Missouri attorney general

Madeline Sieren, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, said there are now five staff members working to reduce the backlog, and that the office has “fulfilled 155 requests since Aug. 17.” 

The attorney general’s office says it is on track to complete work on the 224 requests it inherited from former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt by the end of the year. 

At that point, it can begin working through pending requests submitted after Bailey took office in January. 

But its method of working through the backlog — handling requests in the order they were received — has meant newer inquiries that are small and easily dispensed with sit in limbo as staff work on older and more expansive requests. 

It’s a strategy critics say has actually made the problem worse, a concern amplified by Bailey’s efforts while working for Gov. Mike Parson to weaken Missouri’s transparency laws. 

“Public governmental bodies should recognize that it is unreasonable to delay fulfilling small, easily-addressed requests until the body has first completed larger, more complicated requests,” said David Roland, director of litigation for the libertarian nonprofit Freedom Center of Missouri.

The spirit of the Sunshine Law, Roland said, suggests the wisdom of adopting a “triage” approach that prioritizes fulfilling as many requests as possible as quickly as possible, even if that means tackling the requests in an order different from which they were received.

Sieren said the attorney general is trying to ensure “each request is fulfilled with the same attention and care. The attorney general’s office is not in the business of picking winners and losers.”

‘Personal inspection by any citizen’

Getting an objective understanding of the scope of the backlog has been difficult. 

Requests for documentation — such as the attorney general’s sunshine log, which is a list or spreadsheet most government offices maintain of pending requests — have themselves been caught in the backlog. 

In June, the attorney general’s office said a request by The Independent for the sunshine log couldn’t be fulfilled until Dec. 11. This sort of narrow request historically can be turned around in a matter of days.

With that in mind, earlier this month The Independent invoked a different, lesser-known state law that requires public records “at all reasonable times be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of Missouri.”

Any government official who denies a citizen the ability to personally inspect public records, the law states, “shall be subject to removal and impeachment, and in addition shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100, or by confinement in the county jail not exceeding 90 days, or by both the fine and the confinement.”

The Independent asked to inspect pending Sunshine Law requests, and within days was notified the sunshine log would be made available at the attorney general’s Jefferson City office.

Memo shows Missouri AG helped craft governor’s plan to weaken open records laws

The log documented 18 requests dating back to 2021, which the attorney general’s office finally completed in August, and another 206 from 2022. 

Of the requests submitted last year, around 90 were filed by the Democratic National Committee seeking records related to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s two years as attorney general. Some were quickly processed, while others remain unfulfilled. 

There were also media requests seeking records involving Schmitt’s actions while in office, such as his lawsuits against local school districts and interactions with national groups surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. 

Also included are numerous requests for information about companies accused of ripping off customers. The attorney general’s office enforces the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which protects consumers from deceptive, unethical or illegal actions by businesses.

In addition to details about the scope of the backlog, the sunshine log confirmed the attorney general’s office under Bailey does not charge fees for processing records requests. 

When Roland learned the attorney general’s office allowed a reporter to inspect the sunshine log, he was quick to offer his praise. 

“I am gratified that the attorney general’s office appears to have recognized its legal obligation to grant this sort of access to the records The Independent asked to review,” he said, “and I encourage all other public governmental bodies to follow its example.”

But the fact that a document was immediately available for inspection, Roland said, yet won’t be provided under the Sunshine Law until December shows the absurdity of the situation. 

“It seems clear,” Roland said, “that if the attorney general’s office was capable of quickly making this information available for your personal inspection, it certainly would have been capable of producing the records you requested in a similar timeframe.”

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Originally Appeared Here

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dan Mehan (second from right) and Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick (to Mr. Mehan’s right) helped organize the October 4, 2023 child care forum in Columbia (photo courtesy of Missouri Chamber spokeswoman Megan Davis)

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry president says the Show-Me State is missing out on more than $1-billion annually due to child care issues, including a $280-million annual loss in tax revenue.

Chamber president Dan Mehan tells 939 the Eagle that bipartisan child care tax credit legislation is a 2024 priority of the business community across Missouri.

“The governor has been a great leader on this. People like (State Rep.) Brenda Shields, (State Sen.) Lauren Arthur have really led on this thing and made it a major issue for the next session,” Mr. Mehan says.

State Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor on March 24, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

Representative Shields is a St. Joseph Republican, while Senator Arthur is a Kansas City Democrat.

The Missouri Chamber says a recent report shows 28 percent of respondents say they or someone in their household left a job or didn’t take a job due to problems with child care.  A bill died on the final day of session in May due to a Missouri Senate filibuster on unrelated issues. The bipartisan bill would have increased the capacity of child care providers and would have helped businesses offer child care benefits to support the retention and recruitment of employees.

“Because it contributes to the success or failure in our workforce development in our ability to get people back in their jobs. And you need child care throughout the state to allow the workforce to return to work,” says Mehan.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Columbia Chamber of Commerce president Matt McCormick (left) brief Leadership Columbia participants on March 7, 2023 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

GOP Governor Mike Parson has made this issue a priority as well, saying 89 of Missouri’s 115 counties are considered a child care desert.

Meantime, the Columbia and Jefferson City Area Chambers of Commerce are teaming up with the state Chamber to push bipartisan child care tax credit legislation as a top priority for Missouri’s 2024 legislative session. The three organizations and the University of Missouri hosted a forum on the issue this week, where a Mizzou official recalled having lunch with Tiger basketball coach Dennis Gates. The official says Coach Gates told him that day that child care is a major issue for his assistant coaches. Columbia Chamber president Matt McCormick tells 939 the Eagle he’s not surprised.

“But you can take it to trying to recruit insurance agents, trying to recruit communications people, trying to recruit people to work in your warehouse. It doesn’t matter where it’s at, it’s if they need child care services, we’re struggling,” says McCormick.

Missouri’s 2024 legislative session begins on Wednesday January 3 in Jefferson City.

Originally Appeared Here

Behind every successful Jefferson City firefighter, there stands Denise Bateman.

Bateman, a senior administrative assistant at the Jefferson City Fire Department (JCFD) administration building, is responsible for the city firefighters’ clothes, trucks and paychecks.

“I order all the uniforms and track those, and get them out to the appropriate people quick as I can because more often than not, they need those when they submit those requests,” Bateman said.

She began at the fire department in October 2020 after retiring from the Missouri Department of Conservation, where she supported the deputy director and the regulations committee. Jerry Blomberg, division chief of training, said she quickly became a crucial member of the JCFD team.

“She quickly grasped the nuances of managing a fire department and how to make its firefighters successful,” Blomberg said.

Bateman said the basic skill set — office management, office support and customer service — is the same, but her new job is completely different. She really enjoys working closely with the fire department.

“These folks spend every day preparing for their job, and they work hard to sharpen their skills and make sure their skills are up to date so they’re prepared. It’s gratifying to know that I play a small part in that mission for our community,” Bateman said.

Fire Chief Matt Schofield does not see Bateman’s role as a “small part” of the JCFD. He said Bateman has become an “integral part” of JCFD’s operation in her administrative role.

“Denise … may not wear a uniform or ride on a fire truck, but the exceptional support she provides day in and day out makes our department more effective in almost every way,” Schofield said.

Bateman’s role also includes scheduling visits from the fire department to schools or daycares during October (fire prevention month), keeping track of employee’s immunization records, scheduling maintenance for the five fire stations in Jefferson City and drafting documents for City Council meetings that pertain to the fire department.

“And I’m sure I’m forgetting something, it’s just so different every day,” Bateman said.

Lately, her day has been filled with scheduling fire prevention visits and ensuring the fire department’s invoices for 2023 will be paid by the end of the year.

She juggles everything with the front-desk phone in sight and in mind: Bateman is the fire department’s primary public contact. When a resident calls to ask about the city’s burning season — Nov. 1-March 1 — they’re likely getting answers from Bateman.

“There’s a lot of phone work, a lot of customer service,” Bateman said.

She also assists with scheduling for a Cole County-based welfare program through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Through Cole County’s Women and Infant Children program, qualifying parents may receive a free child safety seat and a firefighter will install the seat correctly in the person’s car.

Bateman spends her days off from work either working in the yard at her home or participating in her favorite activity — playing with her 3-year-old grandson, Victor.

Originally Appeared Here

The JC Schools Foundation welcomed current and former educators, donors and community members to a celebration of “25 Years of Excellence” on Thursday night at its annual gala.

During the course of its 25 years, the foundation has raised more than $500,000 through the annual gala for Jefferson City Schools.

“This is my third year, and so, 25 years — that’s just amazing that I get to be a part of that,” said JC Schools Foundation Executive Director Peyton Leary.

The gala, the foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year, provides an opportunity to honor its Hall of Leaders and dedicated educators in the district.

“I think just seeing the community come together as a whole for our district is my favorite part of the evening, and seeing all the different business owners, and then also the retired teachers that still want to participate, school board members that have been past and present, I think that’s honestly my favorite part, seeing us all come together,” Leary said.

Hitachi Energy was the presenting sponsor for the event.

Guests were welcomed during the cocktail hour by music from the Jefferson City High School orchestra quartet. During the dinner, the Capital City High School Royal Blues performed “My Funny Valentine” a capella, and also greeted guests with a rendition of “The Champion.”

“Tonight we will champion our sponsors and supporters who are paving the path of our mission to champion a legacy of excellence where possibility becomes reality for every student in JC Schools,” Leary told the guests.

The foundation honored two Southwest Early Childhood Center educators.

The 2023 Karen Enloe Service Award, which includes a $500 gift, is awarded to a SWECC staff member with extraordinary characteristics and commitment. Anna Ruth Bunch, a paraprofessional, received the award for her willingness to “go the extra mile” for students or fellow staff members.

The 2023 Brenda Hatfield Service Award, which includes a $500 gift, is awarded to a volunteer who has served at least one year at SWECC. Carol Stow received the award for her efforts to lead students in music and the arts.

The foundation again recognized four inductees to the 2023 Hall of Leaders, who were also recognized at the Teacher of the Year ceremony in the spring. Teacher Clarence “Bus” Watt was honored posthumously as an Outstanding Retired Educator for his years of teaching American history, international relations and contemporary issues. Nell Hawes-Davis was inducted as an Outstanding Volunteer for her work with Adult Basic Literacy Education. Jack Garvin was inducted as a Distinguished Alumnus for his legacy as a Jay athlete and his work in documenting the history of Jefferson City athletics. Mid America Bank was inducted as an Outstanding Donor for its support of yearly grant programs.

It also again recognized 2023 Teacher of the Year Chef Amber Moore, the culinary arts instructor at Nichols Career Center, and 2023 Outstanding Educator Lindsey Kingsolver, a social studies teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School.

Anna Campbell/News Tribune
JC Schools Foundation Board Officer Jacob Robinett, right, describes the Brenda Hatfield Service Award while its recipient, Carol Stow, waits at left.

Anna Campbell/News Tribune
Superintendent Bryan McGraw speaks to guests at the JC Schools Foundation Gala at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

Originally Appeared Here

COLUMBIA − The lack of affordability and access to child care isn’t a foreign concept to Missourians. 

On Wednesday, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Chamber of Commerce and representatives of MU jointly held a child care forum.

Panelists for the forum included Rep. Brenda Shields (R–St. Joseph); Alex Tuttle, legislative budget director for Gov. Mike Parson; Brenda Lohman, chair of MU’s Human Development and Family Science; and Chris Riley, dean of MU’s College of Education and Human Development.

The panel was moderated by Kara Corches, the vice president of Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The state leaders said they wanted to hold the forum to inform community leaders what measures the state is taking to address child care issues.

During the forum, many discussed how fixing the child care crisis is also important to employees as much as it is to children. 

“Business owners want to be able to have security, that their employees can come to work everyday,” Shields said.

Child care issues in the state results in an estimated $1.35 billion loss annually for Missouri’s economy, according to a report from the Missouri chamber. 

Shields and Tuttle are behind efforts to pass legislation to combat these issues. Last session, Shields introduced a bill that would have authorized child care providers to receive up to 75% of their child care costs in tax credits. 

The package included three tax credits: Child Care Contribution, Employer-Provided Child Care Assistance and Child Care Providers.

While the tax credit package did not pass, the state representative claims it was because of a late start in waiting for the governor’s State of the State address. 

According to the chamber’s report, 9% of Missouri parents voluntarily left a job due to child care issues.

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“The ability for employees to come to work relies on child care facilities,” Corches said.

On the local side of things, Tiger Tots is one of few early developmental programs that attended the forum. Owner Paul Prevo said he’s looking to work with leaders to increase child care accessibility. 

The preschool, which serves around 320 students every year, helps around 45% of families in the Columbia area, and 12% of those come from foster homes, according to Prevo. 

“Everybody needs to have equal access to a strong early childhood start because the most formative years for a child are birth to 5 years old,” Prevo said. 

Prevo says during the pandemic, Tiger Tots prided itself on staying open everyday to help families in dire need.

“So we do everything we can,” Prevo said. “When the state increased their subsidy rate, we actually lowered what we charge our families for their parent portion, rather than taking the difference as additional profit.”

C&S Employment Solutions works with the Jefferson City Chamber Workforce Coalition to educate businesses of child care providers’ needs and helps to better equip childcare centers. 

“A pilot program we’ve started is matching up businesses with child care centers looking for immediate relief,” Paula Benne, owner of C&S Employment Solutions, said. “It’s a lifeline.”

On a day-to-day basis, Benne says C&S Employment Solutions works as a last-ditch effort to child care centers that need equipment or solutions to remain open and help the community. 

During the forum, the overall message was how more communication is needed across the state. When asked Benne what needs to be done for efforts to get better she says, “Exactly what we’re doing today.”

“We need to continue to push our businesses and community understanding further to be able to help our child care centers deal with their issues,” Benne said.

Originally Appeared Here

Cole County Commissioners kicked off their Tuesday meeting by proclaiming the week of Oct. 1-7 as National 4-H Week in Cole County.

“The Cole County Commission … encourages all of our citizens to recognize 4-H for the significant impact they’ve made and continue to make by empowering youth with the skills they need to lead for a lifetime,” Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said.

Two Cole County families involved with 4-H received the proclamation: Amanda Stapp and her sons, Conor and Liam, and Julia Suess and her children, Madisyn, Jasper and Everett.

Getting into regular business, commissioners approved entering a professional services agreement with Architects Alliance to draft designs for the new Prenger Family Center.

While Cole County finally found a home for its new juvenile center in August after months of searching, the project is still a long way from being finished.

Cole County purchased a 9.09-acre plot next to Scheppers Distributing Company to use for the new center.

The professional services agreement with Architects Alliance comes with a $860,000 price tag. Those services include completing a schematic design, drafting construction documents and support during construction.

Chris Neff, a project manager with Architects Alliance, said there were also direct-to-owner costs on top of that. Those include $10,310 for a site survey, $15,000 for a geotechnical investigation of the site and $15,000 for a kitchen equipment consultant.

Architect Abigail Steck said this proposal was based on a building study of the existing Prenger Family Center conducted in late 2022. She said Architects Alliance designs will be based on a roughly $11 million construction cost estimate.

“We started out at $6.5 million, so we’re gonna have to pump the brakes somewhere. That’s just not jiving,” Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher said. “We’re gonna have to scale something back or make some changes.”

Hoelscher said he thinks the budget needs to be closer to $6.5 million, which is the amount of American Rescue Act Plan (ARPA) funds commissioners set aside for the project.

“You perhaps thought it was going to be $6.5 million and completely paid for by ARPA; I never had that premonition,” Western District Commissioner Harry Otto said.

Otto said it’s an unbelievably costly project. He said previous meetings indicated square footage for the facility’s secure kitchen was estimated to cost $500-$600 per square foot.

Hoelscher was adamant the county couldn’t afford to spend $11 million on a new juvenile center. He asked whether cuts could be made to bring down the cost or if the project could be shifted.

One suggestion Hoelscher posed was to keep the current facility as a residential area for juveniles and only build a new detention area at the new property.

He also suggested possibly cutting down from eight detention cells to four, or building to meet state needs to initiate a partnership with the state that might pay for some of the construction.

Steck said commissioners could try to shave off some of the cost by reducing the scope of the project, but no amount of “gnawing” was going to reduce the price tag by half, as Hoelscher wanted.

Cole County Juvenile Court Administrator/Juvenile Officer Tobie Meyer said the facility needs eight detention cells and said she didn’t think the state was interested in partnering with Cole County.

Hoelscher said he understood Meyer’s situation and hates to tell her no, but $11 million was too hard to swallow.

Otto argued the county can’t know what areas it can cut from the facility to potentially reduce the cost without getting designs first. So he made a motion to enlist Architects Alliance’s professional services.

Bushman seconded the motion.

“All in favor?” Bushman asked. “Aye,” Bushman and Otto said in unison. “Nay,” Hoelscher said.

In other action at the meeting, commissioners:

Signed a contract with Juvare for Crisis Track services, a damage assessment software.

Signed an agreement for a Prenger Family Center grant-funded supervised access and exchange program. The agreement pays a contractor to supervise visits and an exchange program for juveniles in the county’s care.

Signed a contract with Central Bank for professional services for the Collector’s Office.

Approved letters engaging the services of an outside contractor to conduct appraisals of two Cole County properties. Jill LaHue, representing Assessor Chris Estes, said the regular appraiser had a conflict of interest and couldn’t provide his normal services.

Signed a change order for the 2023 asphalt overlay program. County engineer Matt Prenger said the project had an increase of $26,915.40 in cost due to a difference between tabulated and actual quantities of asphalt. Prenger said part of the work was done in Jefferson City, so the city will reimburse the county for a portion of the work.

Rejected a bid from Micro Imaging Solutions for book preservation services for the Recorder of Deeds’ Office. Purchasing Agent Jessica Bryant said Recorder Judy Ridgeway needed the bidder to digitize, reassemble and rebind 28 books, but Micro Imaging Solutions only submitted a quote for scanning the books. With the bid rejected, Ridgeway will re-bid the contract.

Public Works Director Eric Landwehr gave a brief update on the Capital Area Rail Terminal (CART) project. He said construction crews are actively laying down track at the site now and construction is going along as expected. The project’s completion date is still estimated to be in December, with the facility opening for operation in early 2024.

Commissioners ended the meeting by going into closed session to discuss legal actions. The full 50-minute meeting is available to watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lv7daiAj18.

Originally Appeared Here

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools and the Jefferson City School District were among the few schools to get the maximum amount of funding from the latest round of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School Safety Grants.

CPS and JCSD each received $300,000 for school safety improvements. Fulton Public schools was another area school that received a sizable grant this round with $200,000. Southern Boone also received $200,000. Grants were given to public and private schools.

“Improving the safety and security of our schools is an issue we can all support, and these grants help ensure our schools remain safe environments for Missouri children to learn,” Gov. Mike Parson said in a Monday press release. “While threats of violence are something we never want to see in our classrooms, we must be prepared and have proper resources and response plans in place. This second round of school safety grants continues our commitment to doing just that and helping keep kids safe.”

According to a Monday press release from the governor’s office, 556 schools in total received the grants this time around. Nearly 170 districts received funding from the first round of applications in May.

CPS and JCSD were two of 28 schools to receive the maximum dollar amount.

According to previous reporting, CPS had requested the full amount for several upgrades, including:

• $122,000 – For building access management system to identify and track school visitors entering buildings allowing for more comprehensive school visitor management.
• $50,000 – For audio/video buzz-in systems equipment upgrades, including audio/video buzz-in systems provide access to facilities.
• $10,000 – Additional security cameras to upgrade image quality and provide additional coverage for blind spot areas.
• $118,000 – For hardened ballistic doors for building entry points beyond established secure vestibule single entry points.

The awarded grants are funded on a reimbursement basis, meaning local education agencies and private schools must submit payment requests after expenditures have occurred, according to previous reporting.

Several Mid-Missouri schools received funding this round, including:

COLUMBIA/BOONE COUNTY

Centralia — $150,000

Hallsville —  $150,000

Harrisburg R-8 — $100,000

Christian Fellowship School — $50,000

Sturgeon R-5 — $50,000

Our Lady of Lourdes — $49,856

Stephens Children’s School –$20,268

JEFFERSON CITY/COLE COUNTY

Immaculate Conception  — $50,000

St. Francis Xavier School –$18,500

St. Josephs School — $8,950

St. Martins School — $ 35,630

St. Peters School — $50,000

Trinity Lutheran School — $50,000

Cole County R-1 (Russellville) — $100,000

Cole County R-5 (Eugene) — $100,000

CALLAWAY COUNTY

South Callaway — $100,000

North Callaway — $150,000

RANDOLPH COUNTY

ST. PIUS X SCHOOL; MOBERLY — $18,740

Northeast Randolph County R-4 (Cairo) — $20,250

COOPER COUNTY

St. Peter & Paul School in Boonville — $50,000

Cooper County R-4 (Bunceton) — $50,000

MORE AREA SCHOOLS

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By Annelise Hanshaw | CLAYTON, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is still blocked from enforcing an emergency rule limiting gender-affirming care after a St. Louis County judge granted a 14-day temporary restraining order Monday.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and Lambda Legal, alleges that Bailey abused the state’s consumer protection law to create the emergency order. If the attorney general is allowed to place restrictions on gender-affirming care, the lawsuit contends, their five plaintiffs will face harm, like possible infertility or not being able to continue medical treatment.

Circuit Court Judge Ellen Ribaudo ruled Monday that plaintiffs proved they would be harmed by the emergency rule, and the court will have to decide whether Bailey could use the consumer protection law, known as the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, to regulate gender-affirming care.

“This is a novel use of the attorney general’s power to promulgate emergency rules under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act that has never previously been subjected to judicial scrutiny and may impermissibly invade a function reserved to the legislature,” Ribaudo wrote in her order.

Ribaudo scheduled a hearing for 1 p.m. on May 11 to determine whether the court will place a preliminary injunction, which would stop the emergency rule until the completion of the lawsuit.

The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect last Friday, but Ribaudo blocked it until today to give both sides a chance to make their case regarding a temporary restraining order.

Inside the attorney general’s argument

Solicitor General Josh Divine wrote in a 62-page response to the plaintiff’s request for a restraining order that the emergency rule was inspired by three things: “Emerging international consensus” on potential dangers of gender-affirming care, a growing number of transgender youth and an independent investigation by the Missouri Attorney General into the state’s gender-affirming care centers.

He repeats allegations from Jamie Reed, a former case worker at the Washington University Transgender Center who has lately been asking legislators to ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Reed’s allegations have been countered by Washington University, which denied wrongdoing after an internal investigation, and Transgender Center patients and parents who spoke to The Independent about the care process.

Divine advocates for “talk therapy” in the court filing and alleges that some gender-affirming-care providers skip this step before prescribing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. The attorney general office’s argument alleges some trangender people may not want medical intervention after talk therapy.

“Without the benefit of well-established talk therapy, many individuals are chemically transitioning who would never have felt the need to do so had they been guaranteed access to basic talk therapy care,” Divine writes.

Talk therapy is encouraged by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), Divine says, though he cites WPATH’s seventh edition of its standards of care, not its most updated recommendations. 

Plaintiff’s argument also leans on WPATH’s standards of care, which are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs.

But Divine criticizes WPATH as a “self-described activist organization” with “low-quality evidence,” despite also citing the organization.

His argument refers to international agencies’ critique of gender-affirming care in youth as “the elephant in the room” that plaintiffs don’t acknowledge.

Plaintiffs’ argument instead focuses on the decades of gender-affirming care in the United States.

“The rule fails to explain how medical care that has existed for decades now suddenly constitutes an emergency demanding immediate non-legislative action,” the original lawsuit says.

The ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal also note in the original petition that the emergency rule affects adults, despite press releases from the attorney general stating he was intending to protect children.

Divine addresses the emergency rule’s scope by arguing that “talk therapy is beneficial for all individuals.”

“Had the attorney general limited the regulation to 16- and 17-year- olds, plaintiffs no doubt would have attacked it as arbitrary and underinclusive for removing protections from patients as soon as they turn 18,” he also wrote.

The case may come down to whether the attorney general has the authority to enact the emergency rule under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

The ACLU of Missouri and ACLU say the rule oversteps the law’s bounds, but Divine writes that the law covers “medical goods and services.”

“The invocation of the MMPA as authority to implement the emergency rule for the explicit purpose of prohibiting or limiting medical care to patients of any age presents an issue of first impression for the courts,” Ribaudo wrote in her order Monday.

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ANNELISE HANSHAW writes about education — a beat she has covered on both the West and East Coast while working for daily newspapers in Santa Barbara, California, and Greenwich, Connecticut. A born-and-raised Missourian, she is proud to be back in her home state.

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The preceding article was previously published by The Missouri Independent and is republished with permission.

The Missouri Independent is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to relentless investigative journalism and daily reporting that sheds light on state government and its impact on the lives of Missourians. This service is free to readers and other news outlets.

Originally Appeared Here