Jefferson City

In this 2022 file photo from London, UK, a tennis player prepares to hit the ball during a singles match.

Susan Mullane

USA TODAY Sports

The Missouri state high school tennis state meets took place Thursday-Saturday at Springfield’s Cooper Tennis Complex for Classes 1-3.

In Class 3, John Burroughs freshman Shaan Patel was crowned singles champion with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Marquette’s Edward Yue. Finishing in third was Arnav Gannavaram of Lee’s Summit West.

Also in Class 3, the Pembroke Hill doubles duo of Stephen Lambright III and Christopher Thornberry finished second to Priory’s Preston Achter and John Varley

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The Blue Springs South duo of Carter McIntosh and Judson McIntosh finished fourth, while Liberty’s Nicholas Koch and Spencer Weishaar took fifth.

The team tennis state meet is next weekend.

Here are more final results from the action this weekend:

CLASS 3

Singles quarterfinals: Fisk, Francis Howell North, d. Bansal, Springfield Central, inj. ret. Yue, Marquette, d. Schmidt, John Burroughs, 6-3, 6-1. Gannavaram, Lee’s Summit West, d. Flaska, St. Joseph Central, 6-3, 6-4. Patel, John Burroughs, d. Regnier, Eureka, 6-4, 6-2.

Semifinal singles: Yue, Marquette, d. Fisk, Francis Howell North, 6-1, 6-0. Patel, John Burroughs, d. Gannavaram, Lee’s Summit West, 6-1, 6-0.

Singles placement matches: 1. Patel, John Burroughs, d. Yue, Marquette, 6-3, 6-4. 3. Gannavaram, Lee’s Summit West, d. Fisk, Francis Howell North, 6-0, 6-1. 5. Regnier, Eureka, d. Meyer, Liberty (Wentzville), 6-3, 6-4. 7. Cheema, Liberty (Wentzville), d. Bansal, Springfield Central, WD.

Doubles quarterfinals: Lambright III/Thornberry, Pembroke Hill, d. Koch/Weishaar, Liberty, 6-0, 6-0. Chun/Keswani, Marquette, d. Gonzales/Bartek, Liberty (Wentzville), 6-1, 6-0. C. McIntosh/J. McIntosh, Blue Springs South, d. Tiemann/Blogojevic, Oakville, 6-3, 6-4. Achter/Varley, Priory, d. Cebulko/Poggemiller, St. Joseph Central, 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles semifinals: Lambright III/Thornberry, Pembroke Hill, d. Chun/Keswani, Marquette, 6-4, 6-2. Achter/Varley, Priory, d. C. McIntosh/J. McIntosh, Blue Springs South, 7-5, 6-1.

Doubles placement matches: 1. Achter/Varley, Priory, d. Lambright III/Thornberry, Pembroke Hill, 7-5, 3-6, 10-5. 3. Chun/Keswani, Marquette, d. C. McIntosh/J. McIntosh, Blue Springs South, 6-3, 6-4. 5. Koch/Weishaar, Liberty, d. Tiemann/Blogojevic, Oakville, 6-2, 3-6, 10-4. 7. Bridges/Stevens, Rockhurst, d. Cebulko/Poggemiller, St. Joseph Central, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.

CLASS 2

Singles quarterfinals: Negi, Parkway Central, d. Nichols, Platte County, 6-2, 6-1. Foucheaux, Helias Catholic, d. Groden, Barstow, 6-3, 6-1. Chen. Ladue Horton Watkins, d. Nagarajan, Thomas Jefferson Independent, 6-1, 6-0. Lingenfelser, Willard, d. Van Heest, Westminster Christian Academy, 6-1, 6-0.

Semifinal singles: Foucheaux, Helias Catholic, d. Negi, Parkway Central, 6-3, 6-3. Chen, Ladue Horton Watkins, d. Lingenfelser, Willard, 6-3, 6-1.

Singles placement matches: 1. Chen, Ladue Horton Watkins, d. Foucheaux, Helias Catholic, 6-0, 6-1. 3. Lingenfelser, Willard, d. Negi, Parkway Central, default. 5. Puri, MICDS, d. Nichols, Platte County, 6-3, 6-2. 7. Nagarajan, Thomas Jefferson Independent, d. Groden, Barstow, 6-1, 6-3.

Doubles quarterfinals: Collison/Walker, Westminster Christian Academy, d. Forrest/Vanek, Platte County, 6-3, 6-4. Patel/Kizer, MICDS, d. Deshpande/Garikapaty, Jefferson City, 6-3, 6-0. Daudsyah/Gao, Parkway West, d. Amstutz/Miller, Willard, 6-2, 7-5. Chan/Kadan, Ladue Horton Watkins, d. Gandhari/Colombo, Barstow, 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles semifinals: Patel/Kizer, MICDS, d. Collison/Walker, Westminster Christian Academy, 4-6, 6-4, 11-9. Chan/Kadan, Ladue Horton Watkins, d. Daudsyah/Gao, Parkway West, 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles placement matches: 1. Chan/Kadan, Ladue Horton Watkins, d. Patel/Kizer, MICDS, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). 3. Daudsyah/Gao, Parkway West, d. Collison/Walker, Westminster Christian Academy, 6-4, 7-5. 5. Gandhari/Colombo, Barstow, d. Forrest/Vanek, Platte County, 6-2, 6-4. 7. Amstutz/Miller, Willard, d. Deshpande/Garikapaty, Jefferson City, 6-0, 6-1.

CLASS 1

Singles quarterfinals: Radke, Whitfield, d. Farnan, Father Tolton, 6-0, 6-1. Wilhoit, Logan-Rogersville, d. Lebedev, Metro, 6-1, 6-0. Horton, Savannah, d. McKeown, Mexico, 6-0, 6-0. Griese, Duchesne, d. Pompian, Clayton, 6-0, 6-0.

Semifinal singles: Radke, Whitfield, d. Wilhoit, Logan-Rogersville, 6-0, 6-0. Horton, Savannah, d. Griese, Duchesne, 6-4, 6-4.

Singles placement matches: 1. Radke, Whitfield, d. Horton, Savannah, 6-2, 6-4. 3. Griese, Duchesne, d. Wilhoit, Logan-Rogersville, 6-0, 6-2. 5. Pompian, Clayton, d. Zimmerman, Logan-Rogersville, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6). 7. McKeown, Mexico, wins by default.

Doubles quarterfinals: O’Dell/Davis, New Covenant Academy, d. O’Laughlin/Meystrik, Moberly, 6-4, 7-6, (9-7). Heftye/Gould, Savannah, d. Venigalla/Deaver, Clayton, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Poddar/Robles-Razzaq, Clayton, d. Moore/Hennum, Mt. Vernon, 6-0, 6-0. Pock/Martin, Bolivar, d. Teale/Staples, Maryville, 7-5, 7-5.

Doubles semifinals: Heftye/Gould, Savannah, d. O’Dell/Davis, New Covenant Academy, 6-4, 6-4. Poddar/Robles-Razzaq, Clayton, d. Pock/Martin, Bolivar, 7-5, 7-5.

Doubles placement matches: 1. Poddar/Robles-Razzaq, Clayton, d. Heftye/Gould, Savannah, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). 3. Pock/Martin, Bolivar, d. O’Dell/Davis, New Covenant Academy, 6-0, 7-5. 5. Venigalla/Deaver, Clayton, d. Teale/Staples, Maryville, 4-6, 6-3, 10-4. 7. O’Laughlin/Meystrik, Moberly, d. Villacampa/Sager, Trenton, 6-1, 3-6, 10-4.

This story was originally published May 19, 2023 8:51 PM.

Originally Appeared Here

Incense smoke ascends from the newly consecrated altar of the Cathedral of St. Joseph during the rededication Mass in Jefferson City, Mo., May 5, 2023. (OSV News photo)

By Jay Nies

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (OSV News) — A vigil candle once again flickers through light and darkness. The Blessed Sacrament stays present in renewed quarters, precious and imperishable.

Hints of incense and chrism and candle wax linger. Warm lights animate the artwork throughout the open, inviting, acoustically resilient enclosure.

As always, Christ is at the center.

“In this sacred space, we encounter the living God in the proclamation of the Word, in the celebration of the sacraments, in the persons of the holy ministers, and in the sacred assembly — you!” Bishop W. Shawn McKnight proclaimed from the ambo of the newly renewed and expanded Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City.

“It is in this place that God sanctifies us, and we bless God in response with hearts full of gratitude and thanksgiving,” he stated in his homily for the Mass of rededication the morning of May 5.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States, presided at the Mass and anointed the new altar with sacred chrism.

Concelebrating the Mass with him and Bishop McKnight were all of Missouri’s Catholic bishops, including Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis and retired Bishop John R. Gaydos of Jefferson City, along with the priests of this diocese.

It was the 49th anniversary of the original dedication of the cathedral in the centennial year of the death of Jesuit Father Ferdinand Helias, a 19th-century Belgian-born priest called the “Apostle of Central Missouri” for establishing several Catholic parishes and missions.

The rededication Mass, filled with rituals, symbols and prayers harkening back to biblical times, marked the near-completion of a comprehensive, 16-month renovation and expansion of the cathedral to make it functional and timelessly Catholic for current and future generations.

“With holy water, chrism, and the Eucharist, the liturgy of dedicating a church and altar for God’s service reveals just how important the physical structure of the cathedral is to our faith and mission to evangelize,” Bishop McKnight pointed out.

Freshly cast bells in new towers rang out glad tidings while archbishops, bishops, priests and deacons in brand new vestments passed under the portico, across the threshold and through the greatly enlarged narthex.

Bishop McKnight noted in his homily that Catholic churches stand as sacred symbols — “reminders to the whole community of the presence of God and the presence of the real church that is you — the people who are the living stones of God’s holy temple.”

He spoke of the weaving together of classical, traditional and contemporary artistic styles throughout the renovated cathedral “to manifest our communion with the one church across the centuries.”

He pointed out the newly painted “IHS” mural affixed to the oculus at the peak of the cathedral’s crown-shaped roof. Embellished with a cross and sunburst against a sky-blue background, those first three letters in Greek for the name of Jesus identify the assembly gathered below it as the body of Christ.

In that and so many other ways, the cathedral functionally symbolizes and communicates the mystical union — known as communion — that all Catholics share, especially those of the same diocese.

“On the night before he died, Jesus prayed that we might be one as he and the Father are one,” Bishop Mc­Knight noted. “Our communion with one another in the faith of Jesus Christ and with his church needs to be strong so that we may fulfill the mission he has given to us in our time and in our place.”

Like the resplendent but as-yet uncompleted cathedral, this sacred communion remains under construction. (New stained-glass windows, bronze doors and a new pipe organ are to be installed in the months to come.)

“We as individuals and corporately as the church are still works in progress when it comes to our communion with God and one another,” Bishop McKnight acknowledged.

All are on a journey of conversion to living the light of Christ in a world that desperately needs it, he said.

Donors are paying entirely for the renewal of the cathedral proper, with Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish funding the rehabilitation of the downstairs undercroft, now known as Cana Hall.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, concelebrates Mass during the rededication of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City, Mo., May 5, 2023. (OSV News photo)

Completed in 1968, the cathedral was originally designed with many of the ideals of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Among these are a circular configuration that highlights the importance of the assembled communicants and their active participation in the sacred mysteries.

The renovations embody even more of those ideals, including a conspicuously situated baptistery that highlights the dignity of the sacrament of baptism and the universal call to holiness that flows from it.

Likewise, the bishop noted, “the pillars surrounding the assembly evoke the foundation of the Apostles, on which our church rests.”

He also noted a new large repository for sacred chrism (used for anointing) in the sanctuary symbolizes “that the gift of the Spirit that continues to be poured out on us through the ministry of the successors to the apostles.”

The new ambo, from which the Scriptures are proclaimed, gives prominence to the preaching of the Word and relates to the altar.

“With the image of Christ crucified up front, and the mosaic of the Resurrection and the gift of the Spirit from the Father and the Son in the background, we see in one view the whole Paschal Mystery,” Bishop McKnight asserted.

Below the crucifix and mosaic are the tabernacle, where the Blessed Sacrament is reposed, and the altar, the central focus of the entire cathedral, “upon which the source and summit of our Christian life is carried out.”

The rededication of a physical structure for sacred purposes also marks “our renewal of dedication to God through our belief in the teachings of the Catholic Church, through our charitable works, and through our sacramental life,” Bishop McKnight said.

“These three things are the way we mark our belonging to the Catholic Church,” he stated.

At the Mass, priests and other representatives of each of the five deaneries in the diocese processed in behind their deanery’s banner, each adorned with an emblem from the diocesan coat of arms.

Members of the Cathedral Renovation Commission and the architects, contractors and artists took part in a ceremonial handing-over of the cathedral.

Archbishop Pierre blessed water and used it to cleanse the altar and to sprinkle holy water on the people with the help of several concelebrating bishops.

He placed the relics of 10 saints — St. Aurelius, St. Benedict, St. Clement, St. Francis de Sales, St. Iranaeus, St. Isidore, St. John Vianney, St. Martin de Porres, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne and St. Vincent de Paul — in a reliquary inside the new altar.

Afterward, he offered up the prayer of dedication, imploring the Father to help “your faithful, gathered around the table of the altar, celebrate the memorial of the Paschal Mystery and be refreshed by the banquet of Christ’s word and his body.”

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City consecrates a pillar during the rededication of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City, Mo., May 5, 2023. (OSV News photo)

Following the chanting of the litany of saints by the choir and congregation, Archbishop Pierre prayed the prayer of consecration. He poured sacred chrism in the outline of a cross upon the altar’s center and four corners, then carefully spread with his hands the sweet-scented chrism across the entire surface.

Archbishop Rozanski, Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and Bishop McKnight then went forth to anoint the pillars, applying chrism in the shape of a cross.

The deans of each of the five deaneries presented five thuribles filled with incense at the altar, then incensed the rest of the cathedral and the people.

Deacons, servers and members of the cathedral renovation commission then came forward to set the candles, flowers and altar linens in place.

As the candles were lit and the lights were turned on, the choir led the congregation in singing “Your light has come, Jerusalem; the nations will walk in your light. Alleluia!”

After holy Communion, while choir and congregation chanted “Tantum Ergo,” a traditional hymn of Eucharistic adoration, Archbishop Pierre carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession to the new tabernacle behind the altar.

Bishop McKnight said that while the true Church of God is made up of living stones, with Christ as the capstone, the cathedral is nonetheless a necessary and effective means of evangelization.

“This cathedral stands as both a sign and symbol of our communion in the Catholic faith in what we believe, in how we live as Catholics, and in the celebration of the sacraments — especially the supreme Sacrament that is the Eucharist,” he said.

“May we continue the hard work of journeying together on the path to greater communion,” he proclaimed, “inviting all to recognize this place as their spiritual home. Let us give thanks to the Lord!”

 

Originally Appeared Here

In a grassy field not far from an elderberry patch, a sustainably designed building with large windows and a gently sloping roofline is under construction. It’s the future Boone County Nature School, which occupies land in the Three Creeks Conservation Area and will welcome a rotating cast of 12,000 to 13,000 students each year.

The project represents a partnership among the Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia Public Schools, and other school districts in Boone County.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Children feel happier – and smarter – after time spent in nature. But screen time has only increased since the pandemic. Missouri is one of the states working to get students outside.

“If this wasn’t preserved in some fashion, this would just be subdivisions,” says Brian Flowers, with the state’s conservation department. 

Instead, the land surrounding the nature school will feature a food forest, pollinator plots, a prairie restoration area, trails, a pavilion, and a council house with three tiers of stadium seating. The karst topography of the conservation area – caves, springs, and hills – is typically only found in southern Missouri near the Ozarks.

Conservation leaders and educators in Missouri are hoping to instill in the state’s youngest residents an appreciation for the outdoors, a new experience, and some learning along the way.

“Once they’re there, there’s so much that happens – curiosity and creativity and just enjoyment of being outside,” says Megan Willig, a program coordinator for the National Environmental Education Foundation.

Down a hiking path and through the woods, giggles and chatter echo from a clearing where elementary students have just finished constructing makeshift shelters.

The challenge blended environment with engineering, hence this visit to the Runge Nature Center from third, fourth, and fifth graders. They’re part of a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) club at nearby Thorpe Gordon Elementary in Jefferson City, Missouri.

“Do you guys feel ready to spend the night in the woods?” their outdoor instructor asks.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Children feel happier – and smarter – after time spent in nature. But screen time has only increased since the pandemic. Missouri is one of the states working to get students outside.

The children scream “yes” in unison, steps away from their tiny dwellings made from branches. A boy announces he saw a turkey, while another student proclaims “teamwork” her favorite part. The scene portrays what conservation leaders and educators in Missouri are hoping to instill in the state’s youngest residents: an appreciation for the outdoors, a new experience, and some learning along the way.

“I think it’s so important,” says Melanie Thompson, a librarian from the elementary school who’s leading the STEM group on this day. “Kids don’t spend enough time playing outside.”

Nature Knights

In Missouri, efforts to connect children with nature date back to 1939. That’s when the Nature Knights program launched, giving children recognition for conservation practices. Three years earlier, the state’s residents approved an amendment that created an apolitical conservation agency.

Alfredo Sosa/Staff

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The future Boone County Nature School will serve 12,000 to 13,000 students a year. Above, Brian Flowers, of the Missouri Department of Conservation, holds an architectural rendering of the school.

Today, terms such as nature education, outdoor learning, and environmental education refer to instruction that, in many ways, takes students out of traditional classroom settings. Subtle nuances exist, though, depending on the location and programming. The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental education as a type of learning that allows people to “explore environmental issues, engage in problem solving, and take action to improve the environment” – while also not advocating a particular viewpoint.

The Missouri Department of Conservation, meanwhile, sees nature education as a way to “inspire and educate individuals about nature so they appreciate and ultimately protect our resources and wild places,” says Brian Flowers, a regional supervisor for the agency’s education branch. And agency leaders say it’s becoming an increasing focus given benefits that exist for both the land and students themselves.

“You introduce them to it,” says Mr. Flowers, referring to conservation, natural resources, and wildlife. “You show them why it’s important, and, eventually, that leads to that they care about it. They protect it.”

A study called “The Nature of Americans,” conducted in 2015 and 2016, found that more than 80% of children surveyed said time in nature made them feel creative, happy, healthy, and smarter.

Screen time among children under 18 jumped 84 minutes, or 52%, during the pandemic, according to a study published late last year in JAMA Pediatrics. That further underscores the need for exposure to the outdoors, says Megan Willig, a program coordinator for the National Environmental Education Foundation.

“Once they’re there, there’s so much that happens – curiosity and creativity and just enjoyment of being outside,” she says. It can also introduce students to career pathways in the natural resource, conservation, and STEM fields.

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Girls from Thorpe Gordon Elementary in Jefferson City, Missouri, enjoy a shelter they made as part of an educational activity at the Runge Conservation Nature Center on April 26, 2023.

An Ozark paradise built for fifth graders

In a grassy field not far from an elderberry patch, a sustainably designed building with large windows and a gently sloping roofline is under construction. It’s the future Boone County Nature School, which occupies land in the Three Creeks Conservation Area and will welcome a rotating cast of 12,000 to 13,000 students each year, says Mr. Flowers.

The project represents a partnership among the Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia Public Schools, community organizations, and other school districts in Boone County.

Columbia Public Schools has hired a teacher to lead instructional efforts at the Boone County Nature School, which fits into the district’s overall mission to pour more resources into place-based learning, says Michelle Baumstark, the chief communications officer. About half of the district’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.“These may not be experiences that they would have any other way and when you can create an access to an enriching opportunity, that can change the trajectory of a kid,” she says.

The land surrounding the nature school will feature a food forest, pollinator plots, a prairie restoration area, trails, a pavilion, and a council house with three tiers of stadium seating. The karst topography of the conservation area – caves, springs, and hills – is typically only found in southern Missouri near the Ozarks, making it an ideal exploration area for local children, Mr. Flowers says.

“If this wasn’t preserved in some fashion, this would just be subdivisions,” Mr. Flowers says, gesturing to the growing area that sits between Jefferson City and Columbia. “I always say there would be $500,000, $600,000 houses in here, and then that would be it.”

Though open to students of all ages, the main programming will be for fifth graders, who will visit several times over the course of a school year. The nature school building is expected to be complete by June 2024.

The Missouri Department of Conservation also operates programs that teach students archery and how to fish, among other things. And, in St. Louis, pavement will be removed and replaced with a green schoolyard at Froebel Literacy Academy. Picture a park-like setting with trees and wildflowers, where students can play and learn through STEM activities.

The schoolyard project represents a step toward outdoor equity for children who grow up in urban areas that have more concrete and asphalt than lush, green recreation space, says Aaron Jeffries, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

“They don’t have the opportunity to go 30 minutes to their family farm,” he says. “Their conservation world might be a tree in their front yard and that’s all they have – if they even have that.”

Alfredo Sosa/Staff

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A flowering dogwood at the Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City, Missouri, on April 26, 2023. Missouri’s efforts to connect schoolchildren to nature go back to 1939.

There’s no national standard for outdoor learning or environmental education, says Ms. Willig of NEEF, which was congressionally chartered in 1990 to complement the work of the EPA. So efforts differ by state and local jurisdiction, though she has seen more interest in making it a formal part of the curriculum.

If barriers such as time or transportation exist, Ms. Willig recommends that school systems seek community partnerships. For instance, a local nonprofit that supports watershed health, she says, may be keen on helping with programming.

“The school doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel or start from scratch,” she says.

In Nevada, a bill wending its way through the Legislature would take an initial step toward folding outdoor education into public school curriculum. The legislation, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, would establish an Outdoor Education Advisory Working Group to study approaches over the next two years. If approved, the group’s goal would be to submit recommendations and draft legislation before the next legislative session in 2025.

Mr. Yeager says the proposal builds on previous efforts to get children outside, including free passes to state parks for fifth graders and a microgrant program for schools run through the Division of Outdoor Recreation.

An outdoor enthusiast himself, the assemblyman says children’s reliance on technology, which accelerated during the pandemic, makes the need for outdoor education all the more vital.

“If you can combine education and the outdoors,” he says, “those are lessons I think that will stick a lot more than lessons that you’re going to get in the classroom.”

Originally Appeared Here

Photo courtesy Crescent City Therapeutics

New medical marijuana pharmacy, Crescent City Therapeutics, has announced plans to open in Kenner.

The groundbreaking ceremony is at 11 a.m. Monday, May 22, at 100 W. Airline Highway in Kenner.

According to a news release, the new medical marijuana pharmacy has a “seasoned group of experts at the helm.” The facility is positioned to serve Southeast Louisiana “with compassionate care and the highest quality marijuana medications available in the state,” the news release states.

Construction timeline is scheduled for full completion in five months, according to a spokesperson.

Renton Properties LLC is the developer and ARCH7 is the architect. Shawn Fisher, owner of ARCH7, is a licensed architect with over 16 years of architectural experience, and four years of designing facilities for the cannabis industry.

Lovie Rodgers is the CEO for Crescent City Therapeutics. She earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy in New Orleans in 2007. After graduating, she completed an American Society of Health System Pharmacists accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans. Rodgers holds a Master of Public Health in Global Community Health Sciences degree from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

With over 16 years of clinical pharmacy service and leadership experience, Rodgers was a full-time clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice faculty member at Xavier University College of Pharmacy for six years. She served as director of pharmacy at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, as well as clinical care delivery and pharmacy manager for LCMC Healthcare Partners.

“Lovie Rodgers is dedicated to creating an accessible, secure and compassionate medical marijuana pharmacy experience for patients,” the news release reads. “The Crescent City Therapeutics team is committed to honoring the expectations of patients, physicians and the greater Metro community.”

Thanh Nguyen, a native of Jefferson Parish, will serve as the pharmacist in charge. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, an MBA from the University of New Orleans, and a doctor of pharmacy degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. Nguyen has experience in the pharmaceutical industry since 2008, having served in a plethora of roles such as director of pharmacy, regional director of pharmacy and associate chief of pharmacy for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, he owns and operates several independently owned pharmacies with licensures in multiple states.

“At Crescent City Therapeutics, we want to provide safe, effective, and compassionate care to those who can benefit from this alternative form of medicine. It’s a privilege to be able to offer this important service to our community,” he said in a news release.

Judge Freddie Pitcher Jr. is appointed as chief compliance officer. Capitol Wellness Solutions CEO and founder Randy J. Mire is set to be the investor in Crescent City Therapeutics. Mire recorded the first medical marijuana sales in Louisiana at Capitol Wellness Solutions. He is known to be the first pharmacist to dispense medical marijuana in the South, according to a news release.

For more information visit https://cctpharmacy.com.

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Originally Appeared Here

“Being a mom is like juggling. Except the balls are screaming and covered in food.”

When work is thrown into the equation, the circus act of parenting gets even harder.

Lauren Golden, the founder of The Free Mama Movement, shared her poetic description of what it’s like to be a parent Friday with Jefferson City and Cole County leaders of non-profit organizations, businesses and community groups who are working to tackle a child care crisis making it all the more difficult for working parents to get by.

On Friday, six of those leaders participated in a panel at the State of the City & State to discuss how they’re facing the crisis.

Sitting side-by-side on the stage in the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center ballroom, the six leaders fielded questions from Gary Plummer, the president/CEO of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce.

On the panel was Theresa Verslues, the vice president of the United Way of Central Missouri; Shauna Kerperin, who coordinates Blair Oaks early childhood program and works with its Parents As Teachers program; Stormy Anderson, the director of Human Resources at SSM Health/St. Mary’s Hospital; Paula Benne, the owner of C&S Business Services; Lakaisha Sutherland, the owner of Joy & Gladness Academy; and Michael Whelan, the operations director of Unilever.

Benne is also the chairwoman of the chamber’s workforce coalition. In that role, Plummer said, Benne focused her efforts on child care. He asked her why she focused on child care and how she’s engaged with that system.

Benne said the coalition identified child care as “one of the critical issues” for the community’s workforce. Since 2019, she said, nine child care centers have been lost in Jefferson City, not including the home-run centers that were hit by COVID.

She said those losses hurt hundreds of families.

Also, she explained, losing those centers put more of a burden on the ones remaining.

“They’re stressed. They don’t have staffing. They’re not at capacity because they can’t find enough staff. I know my workers are on the waiting list to get into a child care center,” Benne said.

Fortunately, local businesses were eager to help, she said.

She said Verslues came up with an idea to start a program that matched businesses with child care centers. The partnership between the businesses and child care centers allowed the centers to get support and funding they otherwise didn’t have.

If a worker or leader at a center had a financial question, they could call their partner at their matched business for advice.

“My partner, she called, she’s like, ‘My refrigerator’s out.’ With a few phone calls in this great community, I can buy a refrigerator, we can have it delivered, and she didn’t have to close down her center,” Benne said.

After Benne was finished, Plummer asked Verslues to explain what she’s been doing in regard to child care.

Verslues said United Way has an early childhood initiative that’s been running for 15 years. Over the years, she said, they’ve done training, including teaching conscious discipline, which is a method of emotional self-regulation for children.

She said United Way has been doing its work in Cole, Osage, Moniteau and Miller counties and, similar to the workforce coalition, identified the loss of child care centers as a critical issue.

The organization joined the coalition and has been brainstorming ways to face the crisis ever since.

Plummer jumped in to ask Kerperin how she’s involved in these discussions and what it means for her to be recognized as a community leader in the child care space.

Two years ago, she said, her program was asked to work with the state to coordinate early childhood programs. Through this, they got together with Verslues and the United Way and eventually the workforce coalition.

At the coalition, she said, they’ve been evaluating available resources, such as state grants, and setting goals. Those goals included supporting child care centers already in business, bringing new centers in and showing appreciation for those providers.

In an attempt to attract the future workforce to the field of child care, Kerperin said, they’ve been visiting students and educating them about the field.

Kerperin was also involved in the program that matched businesses with child care centers.

“By supporting those providers and elevating them to be business professionals and connecting them with businesses that can help support them, we’re seeing that we’re gonna build that space of child care. If you’re going to come in here as a new business into our community, you’re going to look at schools and child care,” Kerperin said. “If you don’t have a space where your child’s going to come in and be healthy, safe and ready to learn, you’re going to think twice about coming into that community.”

Plummer threw the discussion over to Whelan after Kerperin was finished to ask why the partnership between business and child care is good and how it’s effective.

Whelan said the child care ecosystem needs a shock and said he liked Fitzwater’s earlier use of the term “moonshot.” He said the city needs to make sure it has a vision, or a strong compass, guiding efforts.

With the hours his employees work, Whelan said, he quickly realized the importance of affordable child care.

He said Unilever is almost ready to initiate a subsidy program to help offset child care costs for employees. He said it benefits employees and will build relationships in the community.

“I never thought I’d learn so much about child care. I used to call it daycare, and Paula would give me a swack on the back of the head and say it’s child care. I think for us, it’s really about how we’ve become more engaged to help an area that’s maybe not a focal point for many people,” Whelan said.

Plummer said Sutherland lost her daycare in the tornado in 2019 and asked what her journey has looked like since then.

Sutherland said her daycare was a 24-hour center until it was destroyed. In the aftermath, it was a struggle to find a space to replace it.

For a while, she said, they switched to in-home care. Her mother took care of the infants and Sutherland took care of the preschool kids.

Then COVID-19 hit and she had to shut down again.

It wasn’t until 2022 that Joy & Gladness reopened. First, they were only open during the morning. After a couple of months, however, she started partnering with Benne and Verslues’ partnership program and was able to expand her center.

Joy & Gladness is partnered with Unilever, Sutherland said. That partnership means they’re back to running as a 24-hour center.

They’ll also be opening on weekends soon, she said.

“It’s just such a blessing to have the community of Jefferson City, United Way, Child Care Aware able to reach out to me before my doors were closed,” Sutherland said.

Plummer gave Anderson the reins to make the final remarks of the panel.

“The experience for St. Mary’s has been amazing,” Anderson said.

She said St. Mary’s is partnered with Show-Me Child Care. While the intent was to give back to the center and support them, she said, the partnership has been symbiotic.

In a show of appreciation, the owner of Show-Me Child Care has had the kids make drawings and pins for the employees at St. Mary’s.

On the other side, St. Mary’s has their resident Santa and Easter Bunny come and visit the kids at the center.

“What it’s about is really just making that connection, and I just can’t tell you how phenomenal of an experience it’s been,” Anderson said.

See also:

Five things we learned about Missouri’s child care crisis

Originally Appeared Here

150 years ago (1873)

Let all read the advertisement of Mr. Henry Larimore’s great sale of shorthorn cattle, to take place at his

farm. It is useless for us to speak in terms of praise for Mr. Larimore’s cattle, since there’s not a

stockman in the west who does not know of them already. We will only say that this is the best chance

the people of Missouri ever had to procure thoroughbred cattle such as Mr. Larimore will offer for sale

on that day. [Henry Larimore is an ancestor of three prominent central Missouri businessmen. He is the

grandfather of Henry Hitt Larimore, a lawyer in Mexico and general attorney and Interstate Commerce

Counsel for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He is also the great grandfather of Curtis Forrest ‘Red’ Whaley

of Whaley’s Drugstore in Jefferson City. A portion of Highway 54 in southern Callaway County is named

for Red Whaley. He is also the great, great grandfather of J.O. Wise, Jr. of Wise Bros. in Kingdom City.]

125 years ago (1898)

The Missouri and Kansas telephone line will soon be completed to Fulton. A force of men began work

Monday stringing wires from Fulton. The work is expected to be completed to this city and the line open

for business by May 13. This same company is building a long distance line from St. Louis to Kansas City.

It is now in operation from Sedalia to Kansas City, but that part of the line will be rebuilt at once and put

it in first class condition. Poles have been distributed all along the proposed route from St. Louis to

Sedalia and a large force of workmen are putting them up.

The high price of wheat and flour is hard on the pocketbook. What’s the matter with cornbread?

Properly cooked, it is a most palatable and nourishing article of diet. It is more digestible than the

wheaten loaf and is equally adapted to the requirements of the laborer and the man of sedentary

habits. Southern farmhands live and work year round on bacon and corn “pone,” and there is no more

vigorous men than they. A little more cornbread and a little less of dyspeptic biscuit would be a real gain

to the nation. Let us sell our wheat abroad and join in consuming that grain which flourishes here in its

greatest perfection. No working man need to suffer because the price of flour has gone so high.

100 years ago (1923)

Members of the Nature Study Club of Synodical College went on a field trip to a place south of town

known as “Dark Hollow.” Ecological conditions, plant life and birds were observed by the members

under the direction of Miss Fowler, head of the science department at the college. The class enjoyed

breakfast in the woods before returning to campus. Those making the trip were: Martha Crews,

Margaret White, Kathryn Christian, Velma Pierce, Ruby Williamson, Ruth Wilson, Elizabeth Offutt, Sarah

Wilson, Helen Hurd and Miss Fowler.

Mokane High commencement exercises were held at the Methodist church. Dr. R. H. Crossfield, of

William Woods College, Fulton, gave the address. The class history was given by Esther Tate; the class

colors by Leanna Davis; the class poem by Marian Ewens and the class prophecy by Ola Dail. Mildred

Parmer played a piano solo. Whitley Cannell gave an essay on “The American Scholar.” Carl Glover

presented the following with diplomas: Christa Connor, Marian Ewens, Leanna Davis, Ola Dail, Mildred

Parmer, Esther Tate, Carroll Powell, Curtis Wise, James Carver, Whitley Cannell, Harry Ferris, Earl and

Roy Dickson and Adam Davis. This is the largest graduating class in the history of Mokane High. The class

colors were green and gold. The class motto is “Gangway! We’re Coming!”

75 years ago (1948)

Rat Control Campaign is Planned Here. Rats cause an estimated $100,000 damage a year in the city

(Fulton) as well as spreading diseases throughout the community. Mayor J. Frank Hensley presided at

the meeting held at the courthouse. He appointed Ernest Wagner, manager of the Missouri Hybrid Corn

Co. here, as chairman of a committee that will direct the campaign. It is proposed to use red squill bait,

which is poisonous only to rats. It is not poisonous to any other type of animal or to human beings,

according to Joe Caldwell of the Department of the Interior, fish and wildlife division. It has been

estimated that it will cost approximately 25 cents per dwelling. Persons using the bait will be asked to

share the cost of the campaign. City dumps provide one of the best breeding grounds for rats. This

phase of the campaign ties in with the general clean-up of the dumps recently proposed by the Fulton

Woman’s Council. There will be three steps in the campaign to rid the city of rats. The first will be the

placing of poison and cleanup afterwards. The second will be to eliminate trash and other breeding

places. The third will be rat proofing buildings.

50 years ago (1973)

Mrs. Louise Sanning with the law firm, Holt, Krumm and Hamilton, was elected first runner up Legal

Secretary of the Year at the state convention. Recommendations for the judges are prepared for the

nominee by her local chapter and her employer. Mrs. Dorothy Reifsteck, chapter president of the

Boone-Callaway Legal Secretaries Association, said, “If one word was used in describing our candidate, it

would be dependable. She can always be counted on to perform any task. Last fall, our chapter

sponsored a snack stand at the primary election festivities. She not only transported a 200 pound

popcorn machine to the event, but also a station load of neighborhood children to sell the popcorn to

the crowd.”

25 years ago (1998)

Michael Henry Foster, son of Dot and Henry Foster of Fulton, has accepted the position of applications

engineer with American Computer Innovations in Amherst, Massachusetts. He will fly throughout the

United States installing the company’s software. His first field assignment is in Rutland, Vermont.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have just hours before their end-of-session deadline to pass legislation that would make it more difficult to amend the state’s constitution — a top Republican goal.

The GOP-led Legislature faces a 6 p.m. Friday cutoff to send bills to Republican Gov. Mike Parson.

Republicans have already passed several attention-grabbing priorities, including budgeting a whopping $2.8 billion to expand Interstate 70 to three lanes across the state.

Lawmakers also voted to ban minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries. If signed by Parson, which is expected, the bill also would affect some adults. Medicaid won’t cover any gender-affirming care in the state, and surgery will no longer be available to prisoners and inmates.

Another bill passed by lawmakers would ban transgender student-athletes from joining girls and women’s teams from kindergarten through college, both at public and private schools. Schools that allow transgender girls and women to play on such teams would lose state funding.

Both proposals would take effect Aug. 28 and expire in 2027.

But the path forward to make changes to the initiative petition process is unclear; a Senate Republican has been holding up work in that chamber in a last-ditch effort to pass legislation cutting personal property taxes.

That means the longtime Republican goal of raising the bar to change the constitution is in jeopardy.

If approved by lawmakers, the proposal would allow voters in 2024 to decide whether to require 57% statewide voter approval to amend the state constitution. Currently, voters can amend the constitution with a simple majority.

Democrats and some Republican former lawmakers have criticized the proposal as an attempt to take power away from voters, who in recent years have flouted the Republican-led legislature by enacting policies through ballot measures.

Republicans, for example, for many years ignored public calls to legalize medical and recreational marijuana use. Voters eventually sidestepped lawmakers and enshrined marijuana in the constitution, which also makes it much more difficult for legislators to immediately undo voter-approved policies.

But GOP lawmakers have argued that legalizing marijuana through the constitution versus a state law also makes it harder to quickly respond to potential unintended consequences of ballot initiatives.

“Statute is a good place to put a lot of things, but I think our constitution is pretty sacred,” bill sponsor Rep. Mike Henderson, a Bonne Terre Republican, said during House debate this week.

Lawmakers also would face a higher bar to put proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot. Currently, a simple majority vote from both the House and Senate is needed for legislators to put constitutional amendments before voters. Under the proposed new rules, lawmakers would need a 57% vote of approval in both chambers to put amendments before voters.

The proposal would make no changes to current requirements on voters to propose constitutional amendments, including collecting signatures from 8% of voters in five of the state’s eight congressional districts.

Former Republican House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden said the initiative petition process is meant to be a “check on” and independent of the legislature. He said the pending proposal “directly infringes upon the Constitutional freedoms of Missouri citizens.”

“It is not a conservative policy,” Bearden said.

Originally Appeared Here

FILE – Glenda Starke wears a transgender flag as a counter protest during a rally in favor of a ban on gender-affirming health care legislation, March 20, 2023, at the Missouri Statehouse in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers approved two bills Wednesday that ban gender-affirming health care for minors, and prevent transgender girls and women from participating on female sports teams. But Kansas City was preparing to defy the state, with its City Council set to vote on creating a sanctuary for people seeking gender-affirming treatment.

Transgender minors in Missouri would no longer have access to puberty blockers, hormones or gender-affirming surgery under one bill passed by the Republican-led House. The ban affects some adults — Medicaid health care won’t cover any gender-affirming care in the state, and surgery will no longer be available to prisoners and inmates.

Another bill bans transgender student-athletes from joining girls’ and women’s teams from kindergarten through college, both at public and private schools. Schools that allow transgender girls and women to play on such teams would lose state funding.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson is expected to sign both bills, which would expire in 2027 thanks to concessions made through Republican negotiations with Senate Democrats.

Democrats wept during the House debate.

“To deny these children care is to deny them their very existence,” Rep. Joe Adams said.

The ACLU of Missouri said the two measures amount to “weaponization of the government.”

Missouri’s bans come amid a national push by conservatives to put restrictions on transgender and nonbinary people, which alongside abortion has become a major theme of state legislative sessions this year.

“When you have kids being surgically and or chemically altered for life for no good reason, yes, it’s time for the government to get involved,” Republican Rep. Brad Hudson told colleagues on the House floor Wednesday.

The governor had threatened to keep lawmakers working beyond the normal end of their session if they didn’t approve the gender-affirming care ban, which would take effect Aug. 28. The ban includes exceptions for minors already getting such treatments.

Republican State Rep. Chris Sander, who is gay, said he’s considering leaving his party after most of his GOP colleagues voted for the bills without allowing him to speak against them on the House floor.

“It’s not a partisan thing to be gay or trans,” Sander, who represents the Kansas City suburb of Lone Jack, told reporters after the vote. “It has nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democrat. They want to make it about party politics by zipping my lips.”

As the bills cleared the Republican-controlled Legislature, a City Council committee in Kansas City opened a hearing on a resolution to designate the city as a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care.

Supporters acknowledged that the city could face retaliation from the state.

But council member Melissa Robinson said, “I do believe in good trouble, and this might just be one of those lines of good trouble.”

The committee approved the resolution, forwarding it to the full council, which plans to consider it Thursday.

The proposed resolution says the city wouldn’t prosecute or fine any person or organization that seeks, provides, receives or helps someone receive gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones and surgery. It also says city personnel will make enforcing requirements against gender-affirming care “their lowest priority.”

“It would minimize the legal violence toward trans people in accessing gender-affirming care,” Merrique Jenson, a transgender woman and founder of a nonprofit that advocates for trans women of color, told the council committee.

At least 16 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, and several states are still considering bills this year to restrict or ban care, creating uncertainty for many families. Florida and Texas have banned or restricted the care via regulations or administrative orders, and a bill to restrict care is on Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.

At least 21 other states have passed restrictions on transgender athletes’ participation in sports.

California, Minnesota and Washington have declared themselves sanctuary states for gender-affirming care, as have the cities of Chicago; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and West Hollywood, California.

Missouri’s Republican attorney general, Andrew Bailey, now campaigning for the 2024 election, launched an investigation in February into St. Louis’ Washington University Transgender Center. A former staffer had complained that doctors were prescribing hormones too quickly and without enough mental health wraparound services. An internal Washington University review found no malpractice.

Bailey has since expanded his investigation to any clinic offering pediatric gender-affirming care in Missouri, and demanded records from a St. Louis Planned Parenthood where doctors provide such health care.

In April, Bailey took the novel step of imposing restrictions on adults as well as children under Missouri’s consumer-protection law. A judge temporarily blocked the limits from taking effect as she considers a legal challenge.

___

Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Also contributing was Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, Missouri.

Originally Appeared Here

It takes special people to enter early childhood professions, John Schaefferkoetter told about 130 child care providers Tuesday night.

It takes extra special people to commit to that work for a lifetime, he continued.

Schaefferkoetter, the development director at the Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City, was the keynote speaker for the inaugural Early Childhood Appreciation Dinner, hosted by Early Childhood Community Leaders (organized with the Missouri Department of Childhood and the Department Elementary and Secondary Education) and the United Way of Central Missouri Early Childhood Initiative. Participants were from Cole, Osage, Moniteau and Miller counties.

United Way Vice President Theresa Verslues said people typically recognize teachers in early May. She said those gathered for the event at the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Aerie 2693, in Jefferson City, were all early childhood professionals — educators, teachers and preschool teachers.

“We just want to celebrate them,” Verslues said. “These ladies work hard. All these ladies that work in early childhood work hard. We really appreciate them. This is about them.”

The groups provided dinners for the professionals, and a variety of door prizes offered by local businesses.

Early childhood care is generally considered birth to kindergarten. The United Way has supported early childhood programs for more than 15 years.

The leadership team consists of Verslues; Angie Bax, associate director of the YMCA Child Development Center; Shauna Kerperin, with Parents as Teachers; and Beth Parrish, a teacher at St. George School in Linn. Each of the members offers different expertise in early childhood programs. For example, Parrish is responsible for paperwork, newsletters and data.

Kerperin, who is considered the leader of the leadership team, said one of the biggest barriers communities have to growth is that child care facilities have closed recently. And, she said, even if they were able to stay open, staffing remains a challenge.

Providers struggled to overcome the “… problem with workforce,” she said. “And getting providers to come into the early childhood space. That’s one of our initiatives, is building that workforce back up.”

She said the leaders wanted to show the workforce appreciation.

“We wanted to do this to show our appreciation for all the work that they do in helping as they grow our littles and have them safe and ready for school,” Kerperin said. “Help celebrate the work that they’re doing.”

She pointed out that several women in the group are graduating from Nichols Career Center this year, with goals of working in early childhood development.

“We’re wanting to celebrate them,” she said. “And hopefully keep them in the early childhood field for years to come.”

Julie Schmitz, director of Show-Me Child Care Center, said St. Mary’s Hospital has offered to let the center use one of its parking lots for two Kite Days for preschool age children on May 16-17.

Schmitz went on a tour of the hospital.

“They’ve got outside space. They’ve got inside space to offer us,” Schmitz said. “So we’re going to go out there and do a picnic lunch. They’ve got a nice water fountain they’re going to put some rubber ducks in and let the kids fish out of it. They’ve got a parking lot they will block off and let the kids have a Kite Day.”

Parents have donated kites and the center is “ready to roll.”

Paula Benne of CMS Business Services, the co-chair of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce Workforce Coalition, said the workforce identified child care as a top need for the community. Because of that, the chamber brought Verslues and Kerperin to provide more information about child care in the community, Benne said.

“Where does the business community start with this project? Bring in those that are already there,” she said. “It rocketed us into finding ways to partner businesses with child care centers.”

They decided to expand the “Partners in Education” program — which engages students and teachers with local businesses to offer support in classrooms — to include child care centers.

    Josh Cobb/News Tribune photo: John Schaeffercutter, development director of the Boys and Girls Club of Jefferson City, spoke about the importance of people working in the early childhood profession.
      Josh Cobb/News Tribune photo: Lori Kampeter takes some lettuce from the buffet during the Early Childhood Appreciation Dinner hosted by United Way and Early Childhood Community Leaders at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Building on Tuesday evening.
  

Originally Appeared Here

Engagement in campus democracy is important, especially to Zion Riffe-Stevens.

Zion Riffe-Stevens

A Missouri State University student and graduate assistant for Paws to the Polls, Riffe-Stevens commits his time and effort toward encouraging people to use their voices and vote.

Paws to the Polls is a nonpartisan initiative to increase voter turnout and engagement on campus.

His effort has garnered the attention of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

A Springfield native, Riffe-Stevens received a political science bachelor’s degree from MSU in fall 2021.

He’s currently enrolled in the Master of Public Administration program and set to graduate in 2024. Riffe-Stevens believes he’s found his calling and loves advocating for expanded voting rights for all.

“I work tirelessly with faculty and students to promote voter education and action,” he said.

Riffe-Stevens also assisted in organizing:

• Missouri State University’s First Annual Voter Awareness Week.
• Voter registration and education events.
• Educational forums to help bring the government closer to campus.

But that’s not all.  He shares his passion for nonpartisan democratic engagement off campus as well. This has led him to Jefferson City, where he engages in lobbying and advocacy to educate lawmakers on the importance of voting access throughout the state.

One in 175

Riffe-Stevens is one of only 175 students from across the country selected for the 2023 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll.

ALL IN strives to increase democratic engagement on three levels: civic learning, political engagement and voter participation.

Their aim is to provide support and recognition to best enable colleges and universities to standardize democratic engagement.

“This year’s honorees played a crucial part in registering and empowering student voters ahead of last year’s midterm elections, resulting in historic turnout among young voters,” said Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

Students are first nominated by a faculty or staff member, then selected based on a set of criteria.

Honorees go above and beyond to advance nonpartisan student voter registration, education and turnout efforts in their communities.

Representing MSU with pride

“I’m excited to receive this honor in recognition for all the work Paws to the Polls and I have pursued over the past year,” Riffe-Stevens said.

Stacey Trewatha-Bach, MSU coordinator of PA special projects in the department of public affairs and assessment, nominated Riffe-Stevens  for this prestigious list.

“If Zion is not creating campus opportunities, he’s engaging in legislative research, legislator outreach and voter advocacy actions of all kinds,” Trewatha-Bach said.

“Zion has contributed significantly to Missouri State’s democratic engagement efforts and I’m honored to have nominated Zion to represent MSU.”

Learn more about the political science department

Originally Appeared Here