Jefferson City

The Jefferson City American Legion Post 5 Seniors Auxiliary team tied for third place in the Diamond Sports Productions 17U Wood Bat World Series, which was held Friday through Sunday in the St. Louis area.

Jefferson City won three of its four pool-play games, starting with a pair of wins Friday at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill. The Post 5 Seniors Auxiliary topped the Midwest Rebels 1-0 and then beat the Quincy Athletics 11-1.

Jefferson City scored its run in the top of the third inning against the Rebels. Easton DeMilia was hit by a pitch to start the inning, advanced to second base when Graham Boeckmann drew a walk and scored on a two-out single by Gavin Williams.

Colten Bryan had Post 5’s other hit, a leadoff single in the fourth inning.

Thorn Phillips was the winning pitcher. In six scoreless innings, he allowed two hits and two walks, striking out eight.

Cole Scheulen earned the save with a scoreless seventh, giving up one hit and striking out the last batter of the game, stranding the tying run on second base.

In Friday’s second game, Post 5 had 13 hits against the Athletics. Jefferson City broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the third inning, added two runs in the fourth and plated five runs in the fifth to win by run rule.

Williams hit a two-run double in the fourth and Myles Gresham added a two-run single in the fifth for Post 5. Williams and Gresham each finished with two hits and two RBI.

Justin Atnip had a team-high three hits, finishing with two singles and a double, while Hayden Schlup and Boeckmann each drove in two runs.

Williams was the winning pitcher, giving up one hit while striking out six batters in four scoreless innings. Carter Otto pitched the fifth, allowing one run on one hit with three walks and two strikeouts.

Jefferson City split Saturday’s games at Arthur Fletcher Field in Collinsville, Ill. Post 5 lost 6-3 to the Gateway Bruins and won 6-5 against the Southeast Tropics.

The Bruins never trailed, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Jefferson City answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double from Bryan and an RBI single from Atnip.

Gateway then scored a run in each of the final three innings. Jefferson City scored its final run on a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning.

Phillips had a team-high three hits, all singles, and Bryan added a single for a multihit game.

Scheulen pitched 6⅔ innings in the loss, giving up six runs (three earned) on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Schlup struck out the only batter he faced to end the seventh.

Down to the team’s final out, Post 5 won on a walk-off against the Tropics, getting a two-run double by Atnip to score the tying and winning runs.

Phillips hit a two-run single in the third to put Jefferson City ahead 2-1. In the next inning, Gresham and Williams hit back-to-back RBI singles to make it a three-run lead.

The Tropics scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-4 advantage.

Gresham pitched the first six innings, earning a no-decision. He gave up one run on eight hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.

Scheulen picked up the win, recording the final two outs in the seventh. He finished with one walk and one strikeout.

Phillips had three singles and two RBI, Atnip had a single, a double and two RBI and Williams added a pair of singles.

The Post 5 Seniors Auxiliary ends its season with a 12-9 record, tying Gateway for third place at the end of pool play.

GBA 17U and the Missouri Bulls each went 3-0-1 in pool play in the eight-team tournament. GBA won Sunday’s title game 7-2 after tying the Bulls at 3 in Saturday’s pool-play game.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. — Within the coming weeks, laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and prohibiting transgender girls from playing on female sports teams will go into effect. 

Unlike other pieces of legislation, the governor did not hold a bill signing ceremony for the legislation. Our Missouri Chief Capitol Bureau Reporter Emily Manley asked the governor why he didn’t celebrate with the bills’ sponsors for one of his priorities. 

The topic was the headline of session and when the legislation made it to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk, a Democratic senator asked for a few minutes of Parson’s time to discuss how he would go about signing the bills into law. The two said Thursday, it’s not that they agree on the topic, it’s that they had respect for each other. 

Missouri Supreme Court settles state spat delaying abortion ballot petition

“I wanted to talk to him about the tone, either in an official release or a press conference, or just off the cuff to try to remind him as best I could that we’re talking about vulnerable kids here,” Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, said. 

It was a priority for the governor, prohibiting doctors from performing surgeries and prescribing puberty or hormone treatments to minors and requiring transgender athletes to play on the team that aligns with the sex on their birth certificate. Parson told lawmakers if they couldn’t get the legislation to his desk during the regular session, to be prepared to come back for a specials session. 

“The bottom line is, everybody knew I was going to sign it, so we were not going to make a big presentation up here for either side,” Parson said. “This is not about adults; I don’t have a problem with that. I have a problem when it comes to our children and I’m going to protect our kids at all costs.”

Last month, the governor’s office sent out a press release saying Parson signed the legislation, but there was no ceremonial bill signing, leading to people calling him out for hiding the bills behind closed doors. 

“Everybody knew what was in that bill, everybody did and they knew when it made it to my desk the chances of me singing were highly likely,” Parson said. 

That’s where Razer came in to play. The openly gay Kansas City Democrat stood for hours on the floor during debate to try and block the legislation. Instead, he became part of a compromise, allowing current patients to continue with treatment once the law goes into effect. 

“Once the legislation had passed the Senate and the last week it passed the House of Representatives and was headed to the governor, I knew I wanted to try and get a few moments of his time to talk about the tone,” Razer said. “The governor has a big megaphone and I just wanted to make sure that the message was sent in a way that wouldn’t disturb these kids and the governor agreed.”

“My hats off to Greg,” Parson said. “He reached out to me and said he wanted to come and talk to me about this very issue and my job is to listen to him because I knew he was the leader of the other side per say in this building, so I wanted to hear his perspective too, and it’s not that we agreed when he left this office, but we both listened to each other.”

Razer said Thursday it was the governor’s idea to not hold a bill signing ceremony. 

“He said, what if we just don’t have the big pump and circumstance of a bill signing ceremony that they have to see on TV and we’ll just sign it,” Razer said. “The governor said this is a good law, and I said this is tough for those kids and I don’t want to do anything that might push them over the edge.”

The two politicians, although on opposite sides of an issue, taking time to be considerate of one either, no matter blue or red. 

“It’s okay to disagree and it’s okay to be friends with the people you disagree with, even vehemently disagree with,” Razer said. “I think it’s a story and a moment, even in the moment, it’s a shame people don’t see this. I hope that this story and think, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.”

Protests over Francis Howell plan to allow anti-racism resolution to expire

There’s been things voted on with people I haven’t agreed with but at the end of the day, my job as governor is the governor’s office, it’s not about Mike Parson, it’s about the governor’s office,” Parson said. “We aren’t going to agree on things but that doesn’t make you enemies, that doesn’t have to make you feel harsh towards one another or be mean towards one another.”

Senate Bill 39 requires transgender athletes to compete on sports teams with their sex assigned at birth. The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) said there are eight trans student athletes who been approved through their policy, four competing at the junior high level and four at the senior high level.

Missouri is joining more than a dozen states in restricting or banning access to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgery. Senate Bill 49 would also Medicaid patients due to the state prohibiting any funds from covering gender-affirming care in Missouri and surgery will no longer be available to inmates and prisoners. 

Under the legislation, the ban for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones will expire in four years, but the ban on gender-affirming surgeries is permanent. Doctors who treat patients in violation of the law would be subject to professional discipline and civil liability. 

The two laws go into effect Aug. 28.  

Originally Appeared Here

These homes represent the top sales for the week of July 9-15.

 

Address: 442 Jefferson Ave., Metairie, 70005
Sales price: $2,020,500
Asking price: $2,199,000
Date sold: July 10
Days On Market: 88
Listing agent: Missy Maestri Martin, Prieur Properties LLC

Sales agent: Elizabeth Leblanc, Prieur Properties LLC

There is another new kid on the block in Old Metairie.

A new construction home by Miller Building Co. at 442 Jefferson Ave. has sold for $2,020,500. The lot formerly had a cottage-style home that the same family lived in for close to 70 years.

The buyer is an Old Metairie resident looking for new construction and more space. That new construction features 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, 4,552 square feet of living area, and 5,257 square feet total.

“New construction is booming in Old Metairie. There continues to be a high demand for it,” said Missy Maestri Martin, realtor with Prieur Properties LLC. Martin was the listing agent on the transaction; her colleague Elizabeth Leblanc, a realtor with Prieur Properties, was the sales agent.

“What’s unique is these high-quality, new construction homes that are being built are co-existing well with the older, large cottage style homes the area has been known for,” Martin said. “In that process, that Old Metairie charm still exists and has not been lost.”

The home features European White Oak wide plank floors, Kohler fixtures, Julie Neil lighting, Quartzite and marble counters, Thermadore appliances, custom cabinets, walk-in pantry, exterior lighting, room for a pool, outdoor kitchen, sprinkler system, and laundry rooms, both upstairs and downstairs. There is a garage, plus circle drive parking.

The downstairs, consisting of 12-foot ceilings, has the master bedroom, a primary suite with a primary custom closet and bathroom. There is an open floor plan with separate dining and breakfast areas. Upstairs, which has 10-foot ceilings, has four bedrooms, plus a den.

“Miller Building is a fourth generation company in New Orleans, and they did an absolutely, stunning job with this house and the lot,” Martin said. “All the trends of what people want are featured throughout this home – office space on the first floor, room for a pool, enough outdoor space for entertainment and relaxation on the patio. They really maximized the space and nailed the home and surrounding lot.”

Closing thoughts: “We started a little bit late this year in terms of activity, but it has absolutely taken off, and I anticipate the market to be very active in Old Metairie this fall,” Martin said.

Other high priced home sales in the past week:

Address: 104 E. William David Pk., Metairie, 70005
Sales price: $1,575,000
Asking price: $1,575,000
Date sold: July 10
Days On Market: 0
Listing agent: David Claus, GNO Realty LLC
Sales agent: Cynthia Pacaccio, REMAX Affiliates

A 5-bedroom, 4.5 -bathroom, 3,754-square-foot home at 104 E. William David Pk. in Old Metairie sold for $1,575,000 on July 10 after spending 0 days on the market. 

• Newconstruction home includes office, breakfast nook, dining and custom kitchen with high-end appliances, living room with natural light, fireplace overlooks rear porch with outdoor fireplace.
• Mudroom,attached garage, butlers’ pantry, security cameras, and surround sound.

 

Address: 3717 Carondelet St., New Orleans, 70115
Sales price: $1,525,000
Asking price: $1,590,000
Date sold: July 14
Days On Market: 13
Listing agent(s): Jamie Amdal Hughes, Rêve Realtors
Sales agent(s): Schlanda Jefferson Deshazier, Latter & Blum

A 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom, 4,297-square-foot New Orleans home at 3717 Carondelet St., one block from St. Charles Ave., sold for $1,525,000 on July 14 after 13 days on the market.

• This Grand Victorian, consisting of original architectural details,boasts foyer featuring original stained glass windows, pocket doors, plaster medallion with gasolier chandelier, intricate woodwork along stairwell, seven fireplaces, transom windows, coved ceilings, gated driveway, and expansive lot with in-ground pool.
• Modernupgrades include new roof, remodeled kitchen and three bathrooms, hot water heater, exterior paint within five years, double insulated windows on second floor.

 

Information provided by Kelleye Rhein & Stephan Mock of Reve Realtors.

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Originally Appeared Here

Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Jeff Roberson

JEFFERSON CITY — When former Gov. Eric Greitens closed his state campaign account last year, he gave generously to a single charity: Legion of Hope, formed by the ex-governor’s campaign manager.

State records show Greitens for Missouri emptied its coffers in November, sending nearly all of its remaining funds — $159,879 — as a “charitable contribution” to the nonprofit, founded by aide Dylan Johnson.

Johnson did not respond to emailed questions and a phone call about his charity and how the money is being used. An attempt to reach Greitens was unsuccessful.

“I’m not sure,” said Johnson’s mother, Natalie, when asked about the organization. “I’ll get back to you.”

Johnson’s website said the nonprofit is “geared towards helping first responders and underserved communities and programs.”

Natalie Johnson’s home in Harrisonville, Missouri, is listed as the address for Legion of Hope in Greitens campaign paperwork.

Dylan Johnson, a 2016 graduate of Harrisonville High School, began working for Greitens’ official office when he was 17, according to his LinkedIn profile. Despite the scandals surrounding the former chief executive, Johnson stuck with Greitens through his failed U.S. Senate run in 2022.

Records show Johnson formed Legion of Hope on Sept. 30, about two months after Greitens lost the U.S. Senate primary in August.

Greitens, a Republican, sent the nearly $160,000 to Johnson’s charity on Nov. 9, according to state ethics commission records.

Registration paperwork with the Missouri secretary of state says Legion of Hope is “organized exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,” which bars it from participating in a political campaign. Johnson is the sole incorporator.

The charity’s address in the secretary of state filing is also the same as Johnson’s mom’s Harrisonville address.

Dylan Johnson was a guest in 2021 on Eric Greitens’ “Actionable Intelligence” show on the Real America’s Voice satellite channel. The former governor described his future U.S. Senate campaign manager as “a student of history.” (Screenshot)

Johnson is currently working as a communications adviser to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to his LinkedIn profile, where he also says he “helped start” the Legion of Hope.

While it is common for politicians to donate campaign funds to charity, it is less common for the charity to be obviously tied to the politician’s campaign manager.

Greitens left office in 2018 after he acknowledged having an extramarital affair with a woman before he became governor.

He was also accused of taking a compromising photograph of the woman and threatening her with its release, but an invasion of privacy case brought by former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, a Democrat, at the time was dropped. No photo was ever produced.

Greitens also faced a felony computer tampering charge by Gardner, who accused him of illegally using a charity donor list from the charity he founded, the Mission Continues, for fundraising in his 2016 bid for governor.

Greitens resigned and Gardner dropped the case.

In February 2020, the Missouri Ethics Commission fined Greitens’ campaign $178,000, saying it neglected to report dark-money aid during his 2016 run, and that he should have reported polling data his campaign received from A New Missouri, the dark-money group once used to boost Greitens’ brand.

Greitens spent that year attempting to rehabilitate his brand ahead of his 2022 Senate run. He and then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt were both endorsed in the Republican contest by Trump; Schmitt went on win the race.

Greitens’ federal account, used to bankroll his failed Senate campaign, was still active as of July.

His most recent report says he paid $473 in June to Palm Beach-based X Strategies for “media consulting.”

On his regular Tuesday appearance on the McGraw Milhaven show on KTRS, Post-Dispatch metro columnist Tony Messenger discusses his column on the obscene amount of big money pouring into Missouri during the primary election season. 

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Originally Appeared Here

Missouri environmental regulators warned the federal government in 2021 that radioactive contamination of groundwater from a uranium processing site near St. Louis wasn’t improving despite cleanup efforts, according to documents reviewed by The Independent and MuckRock.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy in May 2021, responding to the agency’s five-year review of its cleanup efforts at a Weldon Spring site where uranium was refined during the Cold War.

While the radioactive waste and contaminated debris from the processing site have been contained, Missouri regulators noted that contamination to the surrounding groundwater wasn’t getting better.

“The (state) disagrees that the remedy is functioning as intended,” wrote Taylor Grabner, who at the time was serving in the federal facilities section of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The letter, which has not been reported publicly, is the latest example of Missouri officials pushing the federal government to do more to protect the health of St. Louis-area residents near the litany of World War II and Cold War-era nuclear sites in the region. 

A six-month investigation by The Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press found that federal agencies and private companies, for decades, downplayed concerns about radiological contamination or failed to investigate it fully at sites in St. Louis and St. Charles counties.

The state’s dour opinion of the federal cleanup in Weldon Spring was revealed in a document obtained by state Rep. Tricia Byrnes through Missouri’s Sunshine Law and provided to the newsrooms. Byrnes plans to hold a town hall meeting next month so the community can learn about cleanup efforts. 

St. Louis and surrounding areas played a key role in the development of the first atomic bomb during World War II. Uranium processed in downtown St. Louis was used in the first sustained nuclear reaction in Chicago. After the war, Mallinckrodt, which operated the downtown plant, started similar operations at a new facility on Missouri Highway 94 just north of the Missouri River.

The more than 200-acre site has been contaminated for decades by radium, thorium and uranium as well as dangerous non-radioactive chemicals from its use to manufacture explosives and process uranium ore. 

A plaque on top of a radioactive containment cell acknowledges the communities displaced by the federal government’s efforts to build weapons in St. Charles County. (Allison Kite/Missouri Independent)

The Weldon Spring plant was demolished and the debris buried, along with residue leftover from uranium processing, in a 41-acre containment cell covered with rock. The containment cell, the highest point in St. Charles County, is accessible to the public and has a monument to the communities displaced by the war effort and information on the cleanup effort at the top.

Closer to the Missouri River, a quarry the federal government used to store radioactive waste was also contaminated. It’s separated from the main site but part of the same cleanup and monitoring effort.

Remediation of the plant is complete, but for years the contaminated groundwater has only been monitored. In recent years, that monitoring has shown uranium contamination is not decreasing. 

“The (state) has consistently expressed concern that further delineation of contamination…was necessary to better define the extent of groundwater contamination,” Missouri officials wrote in 2017. 

It’s unclear whether conditions at the Weldon Spring site have improved since 2021.

The Department of Energy declined to answer questions directly but supplied a letter it sent in response acknowledging the state’s concerns. In its 2021 annual report, the agency said it would “evaluate alternative solutions for removing residual uranium sources and restoring groundwater.”

The Environmental Protection Agency shared some of the state’s concerns that the groundwater monitoring network was insufficient and the groundwater is not projected to be restored in a reasonable timeframe. But the agency said the publicly-accessible areas nearby, including state conservation areas and trails, are safe “for their intended use of recreation.”

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources did not answer questions from journalists about its letter. 

Missouri regulators outlined a number of shortcomings in the draft five-year review, including that “the remedy is not projected to meet the (objective) of restoring groundwater to its beneficial use within a reasonable timeframe.”

The state said its federal counterparts with the Environmental Protection Agency had “mentioned numerous times” that the site is only “short-term protective.”

Beyond that, the state says, the extent of the contamination hasn’t been sufficiently defined, meaning it could be more widespread than the Department of Energy knows based on its sampling. The federal sampling program, the state argues, is inadequate.

Uranium levels in the slough next to Femme Osage Creek aren’t decreasing, the state noted. A public lake has levels of uranium slightly above what is natural. 

Missouri regulators, in their letter, repeatedly corrected the Department of Energy when the federal agency said uranium levels were falling in groundwater wells at the site.

In a response to the state, the federal government said it would revise its conclusion that the remedy was working. 

“No, the remedy is not functioning as intended by the decision document,” the finalized review says. “The remedy is short-term protective, however there are early indicators of potential issues.”

While a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said keeping citizens informed “is always a priority,” Byrnes said state officials should have alerted the public that they didn’t feel the remediation was working. 

Elected last year, Byrnes swam in the contaminated quarry as a teen and attended Francis Howell High School, which is just down the road from the chemical plant site. 

“Had I not specifically asked,” said Byrnes, a Wentzville Republican, “I’d still be in the dark.”

Originally Appeared Here

Jefferson Wagner is shown in front of his iconic Zuma Jay Surfboards shop, which just marked its 50th year in business. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT

Iconic surf shop is known the world over 

It may be hard to believe, but that little surf shop you probably drive by daily on Pacific Coast Highway, Zuma Jay Surfboards, just turned 50. Its owner, Jefferson Wagner, can often be found out front with a broom keeping what he calls “a family business” looking neat and tidy. Yet, this small storefront is responsible for helping to spread the sport of surfing and its immense imprint on our culture and Malibu itself. 

Malibu’s oldest surviving surf shop started out humbly as Backside Surfboards in a shack at the back of the Whale Watch restaurant (now the Sunset) that Wagner helped the late Bernie Safire build in the early ’70s. Wagner was shaping and glassing his own boards back then. As the sport exploded, Wagner outgrew his shack “where the dumpsters are at the back of the restaurant” and moved to his current location across and down from the Malibu Pier, where’s he’s been for more than four decades.

And Wagner helped the sport grow as one if its biggest ambassadors. As a skilled surfer, he caught the eye of Hollywood and became a water stunt performer. That led to scores of walk-on and one-liner roles with more than 200 credits. He’s worked as a model, posing for the best fashion photographers of the day, including Bruce Weber, the late Herb Ritts and the master of Hollywood glamour, George Hurrell. For five years, Wagner was the Marlboro Man. 

He also became a pyrotechnician and special effects coordinator, all while running the business with the help of his young hires he’s employed for five decades. Wagner estimates he’s hired 300 local kids from Malibu and Pacific Palisades throughout the years. On one wall of the shop already crowded with surfboards, kayaks, wetsuits, leashes and all the gear needed for water sports, he keeps room for more than a hundred photos of some of the teenagers who’ve worked at Zuma Jay’s.

He’s been around so long that now even children of former workers are currently employed at the shop.

Zuma Jay Surfboards’ longevity is astounding for nearly any business, especially in Malibu with its low residency and frequent weather-related road closures. But tourists seem to know where to find Zuma Jay. A few times a week, tourist buses stop at the store and people come in seeking photos and a handshake. That can’t be said for the less than handful of other local businesses that can claim a half-century in Malibu. 

Zuma Jay’s Surf Shop, as it’s als known, has managed to weather the ups and downs of economies come and gone and has done so unbelievably with no internet presence that drives today’s marketplace. 

Wagner holding one of the surfboards he has for sale at his shop in Malibu. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT.Jefferson Wagner is shown in front of his iconic Zuma Jay Surfboards shop, which just marked its 50th year in business. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMTJefferson Wagner is shown in front of his iconic Zuma Jay Surfboards shop, which just marked its 50th year in business. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT

“I don’t do internet and I don’t advertise. I don’t do Faceplant and Tweeker [sic],” the businessman quipped. There are no internet sales at Zuma Jay’s. It’s strictly word of mouth and a reputation that has stuck with so many original customers over the years; many of them now bring their grandchildren to the shop which seems to delight the local icon.

Although Zuma Jay’s is a family business, it’s supported by so many youths learning surfing, boogie boarding and water sports, so Wagner supports them too. He’s sponsored Malibu Little League teams, coached surfing at Malibu High School, and actually brought competitive surfing to Pepperdine University. He helped form the team in 1980 with Jack LaLanne’s son, Jon LaLanne, and other university students who worked at the store. Wagner is proud to have mentored those athletes and their first team who “went far” in the NSSA (National Scholastic Surfing Association).

Wagner has actually been a Malibu resident longer than he’s owned his store. He’s invested in the community’s success and is often asked for his opinion on environmental and business issues facing the city. As an involved Malibu resident, he was voted onto City Council and served as mayor twice in the last 15 years. He’s been an opponent of overdevelopment. Although he wouldn’t oppose a proposed hotel at the site of the old La Salsa restaurant across from his store, he would mourn the loss of 30-foot tall fiberglass La Salsa man who watches over PCH. “Hotel fine, but Salsa man stays,” he said.

Wagner is not currently serving an elected position, but as a fierce defender of Malibu, he said, “I continue my participation because I love my town.” 

Now 70, Wagner expects to be running Zuma Jay’s for years to come, but acknowledged it won’t be another 50 years. He’s hoping some young employees some day will buy it.

Jefferson Wagner, owner of Zuma Jay Surfboards, spent some time as the iconic Marlboro Man and shows off an advertising cutout in his shop. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMTJefferson Wagner, owner of Zuma Jay Surfboards, shows off some examples of his side work as an actor, stunt performer, and model. Zuma Jay Surfboards recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in Malibu. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMTWagner also received the Malibu Dolphin Citizens of the Year Award in 2011. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMTWagner is shown in front of a very organized wall of booties. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT.Wagner holding one of the many wall decorations throughout the shop. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT.

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HANNIBAL — A Hannibal-based agribusiness plans to expand thanks to a state grant.

Show Me HH Farms will use a grant through the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority to boost operations and what it can provide to customers of its cold-pressed sunflower oil.

“This will allow us to put up a new building with a bigger warehouse space for our seeds,” said Kent Brown, who with his wife Kathy, son Phillip and daughter-in-law Amberlyn is raising 15 acres of sunflowers this year.

“We do agritourism when the flowers bloom. This will give us a place to have our product, to greet people and to have a bathroom when they come visit.”

Brown hopes to have the new building done by November.

“This gives us the start we need. It would have taken us years to get to the point where we could afford to put up a nice facility like we’re going to have. We’re very grateful,” he said. “We’re going to keep growing with this.”

MASBDA funded 28 projects this week through the Show-Me Entrepreneurial Grants for Agriculture program. The competitive grant program provided nearly $4 million to Missouri farmers, small businesses and higher education institutions to add value to agricultural products or provide educational opportunities to those seeking to do so.

“Adding value to our agricultural products is a huge opportunity to grow Missouri’s top economic driver,” Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn said in a news release. “Funds awarded through the SEGA program will kick-start ideas across our state and help our farmers and small business owners create more opportunity.”

SEGA grants are funded by an appropriation from the Missouri General Assembly to encourage value-added agriculture in the state.

SEGA funds five categories of grants, with Show Me HH Farms getting $113,443 in the innovation grant program which provided 16 grants for the development of Missouri businesses that add value to agricultural products.

“At MASBDA, we are fortunate to see agricultural innovation happening across our state every day,” Executive Director Jill Wood said in the release. “We are excited to see these awardees make use of this funding as they develop new products and opportunities.”

Brown said key will be continuing to educate people on the farm’s product — a golden-colored oil high in omega-3, high in Vitamin E and very low in saturated fats with a smoke point of 450 degrees.

“People are under the idea that seed oil is bad, unhealthy, and that’s not true with the type of sunflowers that we use,” he said.

The Browns plant the high-oleic sunflowers in June, typically see them bloom 60 days later and harvest in October or November. The seeds are cleaned then cold pressed in custom equipment to capture the oil — a process that takes about 10 hours to fill a 30-gallon drum — with the byproducts used for livestock feed. The oil then is filtered, a 12-hour process, before bottling.

“Most oil that you buy in the supermarket, and I wasn’t aware of this until we started doing this, is extracted with chemicals and solvents,” Brown said. “Cold pressing is so slow … but tastes so much fresher, so much better.”

With the grant, the Browns plan to add a second press along with machinery to clean seeds on the farm, where they also raise corn and soybeans.

“This will take care of us for quite some time and give us a great expansion,” Brown said.

With sales at farmers markets, the farm has built a customer base locally and in the St. Louis area, with plans to target the Jefferson City and Columbia markets.

Pressing other types of oil in the future from safflower, nuts or lavender is a possibility, but “for now we’re going to concentrate on our sunflowers and our building,” said Brown, who was hoeing the field this week by hand. “We use no chemicals on our flowers at all. We walk every row and pull weeds.”

Dry conditions at planting slowed germination this year, Brown said, but shouldn’t affect overall production.

“I think this is going to turn out to be something I wish we had done years ago,” Brown said.

Expanding the sunflower acreage remains another possibility for the future.

“There’s about 240 acres on this farm that would make a lot of sunflower oil,” Brown said. “It produced close to 600 gallons of oil this year just off 15 acres. That’s a lot of bottles of oil.”

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission recently honored retired MDC Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen of Columbia with their Master Conservationist Award. Hansen received the award with his wife, Kathy, on July 14 during a special presentation following the Commission’s open meeting in Columbia. He was nominated by former MDC colleague Eric Kurzejeski of Columbia.

Hansen is the 67th person to receive the award. The MDC Master Conservationist Award honors living or deceased citizen conservationists, former MDC commissioners, and employees of MDC and other conservation related agencies, universities, or organizations who have made substantial and lasting contributions to the fisheries, forestry, or wildlife resources of the state, including conservation law enforcement and conservation education-related activities. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/about-us/awards-honors/master-conservationist

Hansen began his career with MDC in 1987 as a wildlife biologist and retired as a resource scientist more than 30 years later in January 2015.

During his time with MDC, Hansen focused primarily on deer management. Early in his career, he designed and implemented a series of large-scale deer research projects designed to collect reproductive and survival data. This information allowed MDC to set more meaningful harvest quotas and better manage the state’s deer population.

He also focused on balancing the needs of hunters, landowners, and the general public with the need of a healthy, plentiful, and sustainable deer population statewide. He led MDC’s efforts to better engage and measure public opinion on deer management and related regulations. He also led the design and implementation of MDC’s electronic system to sell permits and collect harvest data and hunter demographic data, called Telecheck.

“Lonnie led numerous efforts to listen to deer hunters and provide them with added hunting opportunities and simplified regulations,” said MDC Director Sara Parker Pauley. “Muzzleloader season, youth season, antlerless seasons, longer archery seasons, and increased permit availability were all adopted thanks to his efforts.”

Hansen also led efforts to help landowners whose crops suffered deer damage with a simplified process to obtain special permits and reduce their specific problems. 

“Lonnie championed all these changes, not only engaging public input but tirelessly working among MDC staff to develop consensus,” Pauley added.  

Hansen also guided MDC when chronic wasting disease (CWD) became a national concern in the early 1990s. CWD is a fatal disease that infects deer and members of the deer family called cervids.

“He ensured that MDC and the public had factual and relevant information in the early days of CWD to make sound, science-based decisions about the disease and its potential impacts to Missouri’s deer population,” said Pauley.

Hansen also initially proposed, designed, and fostered a program to reintroduce once-native elk into the Ozark region of Missouri. The result of his efforts is a growing herd of free-ranging elk in select areas the Missouri Ozarks in and around Peck Ranch Conservation Area and Current River Conservation Area. The elk restoration effort has resulted in countless elk-viewing opportunities by the public and an annual elk hunting season.

“Lonnie’s mastery of biology, population management, public involvement, communications, and a sincere willingness to listen and adapt were all essential in making the MDC elk restoration program a reality,” Pauley said.

During his career with MDC, Hansen received numerous awards, including the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) Professional Conservationist of the Year Award in 1996, the MDC Special Achievement Award in 2004, the CFM Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award in 2004, the MDC Award of Excellence in 2008, and the MDC Resource Science Division Employee of the Year award in 2009.

Originally Appeared Here

Lesterville, MO– Local small business owner and State Representative, Chris Dinkins, announced she has launched an exploratory committee for a possible State Senate run to replace Senator Holly Rehder. Rehder announced Tuesday she will not be seeking re-election to the senate and will instead run for Lt. Governor. The district contains Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry, Reynolds and Scott Counties.

“After much prayer, conversation, and reflection, I have decided to form an exploratory committee for the republican nomination for State Senate in Missouri’s 27th District,” Dinkins said. “I have heard from many voters and community leaders throughout the district who have encouraged me to explore this race. They believe, as I do, that it is essential we elect a strong, unwavering conservative who is passionate about our shared values.”

Dinkins is a Wayne County native with deep roots in the district and a proud product of a working class family. Her father was an Army Veteran who worked at the ASARCO plant in Glover, MO for more than 20 years as a member of Steelworkers local #7450. Dinkins raised her children in Iron County and is a member of the Happy Zion General Baptist church of Annapolis. She currently resides in Reynolds County with her husband Dave. Together they own and operate a small business in Lesterville, MO.

“I’m a working-class woman from a working class family so I know first hand that struggles and challenges many of our families our facing in the Biden-Economy,” Dinkins said. “As your State Senator, I will put American Jobs, American Workers, and American values first again! For too long career politicians and corrupt insiders have stolen the American Dream from Missouri’s working families. Decades of irresponsible career politicians, corrupt insiders, and corporate greed have lined the pockets of the wealthy while making it harder for our working families to earn family-supporting wages.”

Dinkins has previously received an award for “conservative excellence” by the American Conservative Union for her work in pushing conservative reforms in the state legislature. She supported and passed legislation that made Missouri the strongest Pro-Life state in the country and reduced taxes on Missouri families. Dinkins is an avid sportswoman who helped pass the “Second Amendment Preservation Act” and has pledged to combat any efforts to repeal the legislation in the State Senate.

“We are at a turning point in our country and it has never been more important to elect principled conservative leaders who will actually fight for the things we believe in,”

Dinkins said. “It is not enough to just have an “R” next to your name if you go to Jefferson City and vote like a “D”. I will work to ban taxpayer funding for all “woke” DEI and CRT programming in our state, will protect innocent life, defend our constitutional rights, and push back against out-of-control regulations being passed down on our farmers and business owners from the liberals in DC.”

Prior to her time as State Representative, Dinkins was active on the Republican State Committee and was a former award-winning educator. She said education reform is one of the issues she looks forward to tackling in the senate. “Right now, I think many parents have had their eyes open to what is going on in many of their public schools throughout the state. From curriculum transparency to more parental involvement and choice, we need to be exploring every option on how to ensure every child in our state has access to a world class education. We need to get out of the CRT and back to the ABC’s,” Dinkins stated.

Dinkins said she will continue talking to voters in the coming months to see if there is support for her candidacy in this race and will likely make a decision by the end of the year.

“Right now I’m going to focus on meeting voters and hearing first hand from them on what they want to see from their next State Senator,” Dinkins said. Voter can learn more at ChrisDinkins.com.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY — The panel overseeing Missouri’s network of public defender offices is considering whether to shutter its bureau in the Bootheel city of Kennett as a result of its inability to recruit staff attorneys who want to work there.

Mary Fox, director of the Missouri State Public Defender System, said Tuesday she has recommended the Kennett office be closed and merged with the Jackson office, about 100 miles, or a 1½-hour drive, north.

Fox said the six-member Missouri State Public Defender Commission, which is appointed by the governor, discussed the possible closure at its June meeting and is scheduled to consider it again at its Aug. 1 meeting.

It is possible the commission could take action at that time, Fox said.

“The problem has been our inability to staff the Kennett office,” Fox said. “Hiring has been a struggle the last several years, but in that area, it’s been more than just a struggle.”

Fox said one attorney currently works out of the Kennett office despite funding for five total attorney positions, including four assistant public defenders and one lead district defender.

She said the Kennett office, serving Dunklin County, opened 956 cases last fiscal year, “which is clearly too much for one attorney.”

“We’ve been hoping to hire people,” Fox said. “We contracted out a significant number of cases from down there.”

Fox said no one has applied for an assistant public defender job at the Kennett office since March 2021, and wouldn’t comment on applicants for the district defender position.

“I think we could operate more efficiently if the office was operated out of” Jackson, Fox said.

The Jackson office covers Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties. It has also absorbed cases in Stoddard County, which had previously been handled by the Kennett office.

Fox said the Poplar Bluff and Portageville offices, also covering southeast Missouri regions, are staffed with five and four attorneys, respectively. Those two offices have also faced staffing challenges, she said.

Of Kennett, she said, “anecdotally, my understanding is that it is a difficult jurisdiction in which to practice.”

She said Kennett, population 10,507, is “a very small town with not a lot nearby,” which has also hurt hiring.

The much larger Jackson office, near the college town of Cape Girardeau, hosts 11 attorneys with three more scheduled to come on board, Fox said. 

If the commission closes the Kennett office, its five positions would be transferred to the Jackson office, she said.

Fox said if clients can’t make it to a public defender office, attorneys will meet them elsewhere or contact them by phone or video conference, or visit them in jail.

The public defender system operates 33 trial offices and serves indigent defendants in 114 counties and the city of St. Louis. 

Kennett is located in one of Missouri’s poorest counties, Dunklin, where the population shrank more than 11% between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census.

The census pegged the county’s population at 28,283 in the last national headcount, down from 31,953 a decade earlier.

Kennett lost its hospital in 2018, and Dunklin County’s poverty rate of 22.3% far exceeds the overall state poverty rate of 12.7%, according to the census.

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Originally Appeared Here