Jefferson City

May 6, 2023

Northwest Missouri State University honored a record number of graduating students during a commencement ceremony Saturday morning at Bearcat Stadium, celebrating a culminating chapter in the students’ lives and a beginning of what the University anticipates they will accomplish in subsequent years.

The ceremony recognized 1,683 students, ranging in age from 19 to 85, who completed degrees during the spring semester, which ended Friday, or plan to finish degrees this summer. The conferrals totaled 766 undergraduate degrees and 917 graduate degrees, consisting of 730 master’s degrees and 187 education specialist degrees.

A capacity crowd attended Northwest’s commencement ceremony at Bearcat Stadium. (Photos by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

A degree candidate waves to attendees in the grandstand at Bearcat Stadium during Saturday’s commencement ceremony.

Northwest Interim President Dr. Clarence Green addressed degree candidates and their families.

Northwest leaders conferred degrees to four undergraduate candidates as well as two graduate candidates on Thursday evening for the student-athletes who could not participate in Saturday’s ceremony,

Although Northwest offered a singular commencement ceremony at Bearcat Stadium during the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 in lieu of its traditional spring and winter commencement ceremonies that year, Saturday’s celebration was the first full-scale commencement ceremony at that venue after decades of the University hosting multiple commencement weekend ceremonies inside Bearcat Arena.

A capacity crowd filling the stadium cheered the degree candidates as their names were called and they crossed a stage at the stadium’s south end zone.

“Every day is a great day to be a Bearcat, and I know our degree candidates will fondly remember this day in particular – the day in which we honor the completion of your degree, your perseverance and success at achieving something so few accomplish,” Northwest Interim President Dr. Clarence Green said during his opening remarks. “Not only have you completed your degree, you were in the thick of it during a global pandemic, unprecedented division in our county and the creation of TikTok.” 

Green emphasized what it means to be a Bearcat at Northwest, highlighting the University’s tenets of learning, connecting, caring, practicing civility and showing pride. Noting about one-third of the U.S. population holds a bachelor’s degree or higher, Green said Northwest graduates prove themselves as lifelong learners. Further, he encouraged the graduates to engage with the communities where they choose to live, be solution-oriented and serve others in meaningful ways. 

“Whether you are receiving an undergraduate or graduate degree, Bearcats go into the workforce and their communities with the mission of bettering the places that they work and live,” Green said. “Bearcats also lean on each other and seek help when needed.”

Northwest’s most common undergraduate degree this spring is the Bachelor of Science in elementary education, and the most common graduate degree is the Master of Science in educational leadership with a K-12 emphasis.

Geographically, the graduates represented 38 states and 18 countries. While 68 percent of the graduates hailed from Missouri, another 11 percent were from Iowa, 7 percent were from Nebraska and 4 percent came from Kansas.

In addition to Saturday’s ceremony, Northwest leaders honored six student-athletes on Thursday evening who completed degrees but were competing this weekend with the Bearcat track and field team at the 2023 MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City, Missouri.

A graduating student celebrates the conferral of her degree as she crosses Northwest’s commencement stage.

About Northwest Missouri State University

With an enrollment of about 8,500 students, Northwest is a coeducational, primarily residential four-year university that offers a broad range of undergraduate and selected graduate programs on its Maryville campus as well as its Northwest-Kansas City location and through Northwest Online.

Founded in 1905, Northwest boasts a high retention rate, and results of 2021 Ruffalo Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory show Northwest students are more satisfied than students at national peers and 80 percent of Northwest students report they would repeat their University experience, compared to 77 percent of students surveyed nationally at their respective institutions. Additionally, Northwest’s graduation rate is in the 95th percentile among its peers.

Furthermore, 98 percent of Northwest bachelor’s degree earners and nearly 100 percent of master’s degree earners secure employment or continue their education within six months of graduation, according to the most recent data. 

Northwest places a high emphasis on profession-based learning to help graduates get a jumpstart on their careers. Students have opportunities to build their résumés with experiences on campus in nearly every area of study, including the Horace Mann Laboratory School, National Public Radio affiliate KXCV, the R.T. Wright Farm, Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area or Knacktive, a student-driven integrated digital marketing communications agency. In conjunction with its emergency and disaster management program, Northwest organizes and hosts Missouri Hope, an annual mass casualty training exercise that attracts first responders and emergency workers from throughout the nation and provides hands-on training in preparation for a natural disaster.

Furthermore, its vibrant and diverse learning community offers more than 150 student organizations, and textbooks and a laptop are included in tuition, which is among the lowest in the nation, saving students an estimated $6,800 over four years. Northwest also offers 1,200 student employment positions, allowing students to build professional skills through its internationally benchmarked student employment program. 

For more information about Northwest and its performance, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/aboutus/facts/.

Originally Appeared Here

DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press

11 hours ago

Missouri state Sen. Elaine Gannon speaks to reporters Friday, May 5, 2023, at her Capitol office in Jefferson City, Mo. In front of her are notes about a bill passed by the Legislature that would extend Medicaid coverage for lower-income mothers for a full year after they give birth. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lower-income new mothers could gain a full year of Medicaid health-care coverage in Missouri under legislation given final approval Friday as part of a national push to improve maternal health.

The legislation, which now goes to Gov. Mike Parson, would add Missouri to a growing list of Republican-led states that have previously balked at Medicaid expansions but which are now joining Democratic states in providing 12 months of coverage — instead of the typical 60 days — after women give birth.

“If we want healthy babies, we have to have healthy mammas — and that is so important,” said Republican state Sen. Elaine Gannon, one of the sponsors of the Missouri legislation.

The option for longer Medicaid coverage was made possible under a pandemic relief law signed by President Joe Biden in 2021. About two-thirds of states already have implemented 12 months of postpartum care, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Alaska Legislature on Friday passed legislation extending postpartum Medicaid coverage for new mothers from 60 days to 12 months.

“Postpartum health issues occur far beyond 60 days, and I am pleased the Legislature passed this long overdue bill,” Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement.

Some Republican-led states didn’t act upon the Medicaid expansion until after the U.S. Supreme Court used a Mississippi case last June to overturn a constitutional right to abortion. When Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, signed legislation in March expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage, he described it as part of a “new pro-life agenda” to help mothers now that abortion access is restricted.

When signing a similar bill in March, Republican Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming also described it as a “signature piece of pro-life legislation.”

In Missouri, where abortion is banned except in certain medical emergencies, Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden opened this year’s session by saying he wanted broaden the definition of “pro-life” policies — citing longer postpartum Medicaid coverage as one example.

When the Senate initially passed the legislation earlier this year, conservative Republicans attached a provision intended to exclude women who get elective abortions. But that was stripped from the final version after other lawmakers raised concerns that an anti-abortion provision could jeopardize needed approval from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

Missouri has the nation’s seventh highest maternal mortality rate, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Services. A department report released last year found that an average of 61 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year of their pregnancy during 2017-2019, and about three-fourths of those deaths were preventable. The report also found that Black women were more than three times as likely to die of pregnancy-related causes as white women.

Originally Appeared Here

A filibuster consumed about nine hours of the Missouri Senate’s time as the Friday deadline to pass the $50 billion state budget loomed, putting a dispute over a bill designed to kill a proposed landfill in south Kansas City into the spotlight.

Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, held the Senate floor for more than four hours Thursday, preventing the chamber from taking procedural votes to begin the day’s work. He threatened to continue his filibuster until the Senate approves legislation he said was essential to protect his constituents’ property rights.

“You’ve got the wrong person,” Brattin said. “You messed with the wrong Marine. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

With only a few working days left before the Missouri General Assembly must adjourn for the year, the filibuster could prevent the state from passing a budget, which would be a historic failure. 

“Until I get a resolution on this,” Brattin said, “ain’t nothing happening.”

After a few hours one of Brattin’s colleagues — Sen. Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring, a potential GOP gubernatorial candidate next year — took over to give him a break. Later, Sen. Jill Carter of Granby took over. 

The filibuster ended just before 7 p.m. when the Senate came back from a nearly two-hour recess, during which Eigel, Brattin, Senate Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough and others were seen going into confer with Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden and Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin.

Outrage over proposed Kansas City landfill sets up showdown in Missouri Capitol

Brattin launched his filibuster at a moment of maximum pressure for senators. All spending bills must pass by 6 p.m. Friday, and four were waiting for procedural action necessary for a Senate vote. 

As long as Brattin filibustered, that action couldn’t move forward. 

Brattin’s goal was to force senators to vote on legislation that would stymie a plan by KC Recycle & Waste Solutions, owned by Jennifer and Aden Monheiser. 

The company has proposed a landfill on 270 acres at the extreme southern tip of Kansas City, where it borders Grandview, Raymore and Lee’s Summit. The landfill project has outraged neighbors, including a nearby golf course community with homes worth up to $1 million, and officials from surrounding municipalities.

The site is just far enough from the border that a Missouri law requiring approval from an adjacent municipality before a landfill is built in Kansas City does not apply. So Brattin and state Rep. Mike Hafffner, R-Pleasant Hill, have been trying to change the law to allow the adjacent municipalities to block landfills within a mile of the border.

While Haffner’s legislation passed the House with an overwhelming 139-16 majority, it was stymied Wednesday night by a filibuster by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, who said it was important to base policy on more than simply a desire by residents not to want a landfill in their backyard.

Coleman said the legislation is additional regulation on “an incredibly regulated industry.” 

“It is narrowly written legislation that doesn’t protect most Missourians,” Coleman said. “Its sole purpose is to stop a female-owned business and (put) an operator out of business.”

Brattin, whose district borders the proposed landfill site, was outraged at the interference by a senator whose district is across the state. 

“The flagrant disregard for senators in this chamber is beyond like anything I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Landfill showdown

Rumors of a proposed landfill began circulating long before the community could confirm anything, Haffner said earlier this year. 

He was only able to confirm the existence of the plan when lobbyists for KC Waste & Recycling Solutions came to his office early in the year. 

The company has hired 19 Jefferson City lobbyists compared to three hired by Raymore, the most active of the municipalities in opposition to the landfill.

That set up a showdown between the dozens of area residents who implored representatives to pass Haffner’s legislation and kill the project and the Monheisers’ company. 

Jennifer Monheiser said passing the legislation would be like changing the rules in the middle of the game. While the Monheisers haven’t sought rezoning for the property or an environmental permit, she said they have been acquiring land for the site. 

Monheiser reiterated that in a statement Thursday. 

“It’s difficult enough to create and run small businesses without lawmakers trying to change the rules in the middle of the game,” she said. “We are glad to see a significant number of policymakers in Jefferson City sticking up for small businesses like ours and fighting this government overreach.”

But Haffner and officials opposed to the project disputed that.

“The game hasn’t even begun if you’re going to equate this thing to a game, which was very offensive to us…when a landfill at that location would affect so many people negatively,” Raymore Mayor Kris Turnbow said earlier this year.

Filibuster on filibuster

Haffner’s legislation came up on the Senate floor Wednesday evening, but after Coleman’s filibuster, it was placed on the Senate’s informal calendar where it could come up again at any time — or never.

In a news release Wednesday night, the city of Raymore said “it is clear that a majority of the Senate is in support of the bill,” but Coleman’s filibuster kept it from coming up for a vote.

Turnbow called Coleman’s filibuster “tone deaf theatrics from a politician with no empathy or understanding of the very real threats facing communities like ours.” 

“Countless people in our community, including me, listened to today’s debate appalled at the disregard for their health and well-being.”

Approached by a reporter, Coleman said she was too busy to comment.

When the Senate came back Thursday morning, Brattin made a motion to amend the Senate Journal, which the Senate must approve before it begins other work for the day. Then, Brattin proceeded to hold the floor for four hours, decrying Coleman’s filibuster. 

Brattin spoke at length about the disrespectful nature of Coleman’s filibusters and read emails from constituents opposed to the project. He said repeatedly that he had a box of “5-hour energy” drinks to keep him going. 

He accused Coleman — without naming her — of filibustering the bill for financial gain.

Coleman received a $2,400 donation from a political action committee associated with one of the lobbying firms working for KC Recycling & Waste Solutions.

Shutting down the Senate

The General Assembly’s only unavoidable duty is passing appropriation bills. Since a fixed deadline was set in 1988, only once, in 1997, have lawmakers failed to pass all spending bills. Then-Gov. Mel Carnahan called lawmakers into special session 30 minutes after they adjourned to complete the appropriation process.

There are 17 spending bills – one to pay the state’s bills through June 30, 12 to fund state agency operations and four to finance construction and maintenance – awaiting action. The Senate must get past approval of the journal for any of them to get to a vote.

Even as the Senate was wracked with bitter GOP infighting for the past two years, the budget was never in danger of not passing. With the filibuster over, the danger of failure is not over because of the short time left to complete the process and any renewed filibuster would upset that timing.

Brattin and Haffner’s legislation has support from Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, whose district includes the proposed landfill site. 

Razer said he didn’t know where the opposition to the legislation was coming from, but he was having discussions about the legislation Thursday morning as Brattin held the floor. 

“We need to come up with a solution to this,” Razer said. 

Razer said he hoped the legislation passed, but he didn’t want to see the chamber shut down over any single piece of legislation. He noted that if the legislature doesn’t kill the landfill project, it still faces votes at the local level.

In addition to the budget deadline, Razer pointed out that the legislature must adjourn for the year by 6 p.m. May 12.

“We’re getting to the point where not only every day matters, but almost every hour matters,” Razer said.

He added: “The closer we get to 6 p.m. next Friday, the more every minute counts.”

The Missouri Independent’s Annelise Hanshaw contributed to this report. 

Originally Appeared Here

Editor’s Note: The following story appeared in the April 24 issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Then & Now” is a profile of a past member of the Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class.

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Eileen Jennings is in her 19th year as a banker in Northwest Arkansas, all with one of the state’s largest banks.

She’s held various commercial credit and lending roles working at Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank, the $26.4 billion-asset lender owned by members of the Walton family.

Since the fall of 2021, Jennings has worked for the Arvest Opportunity Fund, a wholly owned non-bank subsidiary providing loans and lines of credit to small businesses that fall below bank loan policy requirements.

In a recent interview, she said the new job is a continuation of the best part of her career — getting to know customers and figuring out ways to connect them with needed cash.

“It’s one thing to look at someone on paper,” she said. “But when you get to know their origin stories and how they started their business, it’s fun to learn and figure out how to help them grow and be successful.”

Jennings’ passion for small business is personal. Her mother ran an H&R Block tax office in Fayetteville for several years. Her husband, Walter, owns a small business in the city.

Jennings grew up in St. Paul, a rural town in south Madison County. That upbringing also helped form her desire to help small business owners.

“There were a lot of self-employed folks in farming or a side business,” she said. “It always interested me to see people that had a great idea and wanted to figure out how to monetize it. Usually, those ideas were born out of a need they saw in their community and a way they could make it better.”

Jennings attended the University of Arkansas and earned bachelor’s degrees in international economics and finance. She worked in Kansas City, Mo., for a few years but moved back to Northwest Arkansas in 2004 to work as a credit analyst at Arvest Bank in Bentonville.

She quickly moved into loan review and spent the next decade working closely with many customers to start new businesses and expand current ones. Jennings supported the bank’s Small Business Administration lending — Arvest is an SBA-preferred lender — and the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center. She also created the Understanding Commercial Customers classes in Fayetteville, which the bank has put into action across its four-state footprint (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma).

The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal named Jennings, a vice president with the company in Fayetteville, to the Forty Under 40 class in 2014.

Two years later, her success drew more attention. Arvest Bank promoted her to senior vice president, and the central Arkansas chapter of the Risk Management Association (RMI) named Jennings its 2016 Commercial Banker of the Year. RMI, a community development corporation based in Jefferson City, Mo., partners with community banks to provide SBA 504 loans.

After beta market testing in mid-2022, the Arvest Opportunity Fund was launched across Arvest’s four-state footprint in August 2022. As of April 20, it’s delivered more than $2.8 million in small business loans, and customers must agree to go through financial education coaching as part of their loan agreement.

When the bank began discussing the idea of forming the subsidiary, Jennings was immediately interested.

“I might have been a little persistent with the decision-makers,” she joked. “I knew small business would be a big part of it, and I wanted to be involved.”

Jennings, the director of community lending and investment, is part of Arvest Opportunity Fund’s four-person founding staff, led by CEO Hillis Schild, who is based in Little Rock.

“I am super proud of Arvest and the ownership for trying something new and different to help [underbanked] folks in our communities,” Jennings said.

Jennings is an RMI board member and serves on the group’s Arkansas loan committee. She’s also a longtime board member for the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, a Fayetteville nonprofit that protects over 6,000 acres in the region.

A two-time breast cancer survivor, Jennings and her husband have a daughter, an eighth-grader at Ramay Junior High School, who is an avid volleyball player. They live on a farm south of Fayetteville.

“We mostly grow ticks and rocks,” Jennings joked.

Originally Appeared Here

Government works best when it’s closest to the people — when elected representatives can be approached by constituents, listen to our concerns, hear our policy solutions, and talk about ideas for the betterment of our communities as a whole.

For decades, Missouri’s rural counties had local control and the ability to enact health ordinances to protect farmers, rural residents and our water and air from absentee and foreign-owned concentrated animal feeding operations.

Then, at the behest of corporate agriculture and their lobbyists, our state Legislature passed Senate Bill 391 in 2019, which prevents counties from imposing commonsense safeguards and setbacks from corporate industrial livestock operations — safeguards meant to protect our farms, water and air, and property rights from corporate hog and poultry operations.

In response, three Missouri farmers, the Cedar County Commission, the Cooper County Health Board and Missouri residents sued, claiming Senate Bill 391 is unconstitutional, that it violated the Right to Farm constitutional amendment, did not act retroactively and should allow existing health ordinances to be grandfathered in, and that counties can enact protections from CAFOs that state regulations do not address.

Just last month, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Senate Bill 391 is constitutional and that our state Legislature did indeed strip local control from rural counties, taking away a county’s right to protect the health and well-being of its residents through local health ordinances.

Now, only our state government can regulate CAFOs, and, over the last decade, Missouri has weakened our regulations for CAFOs to virtually the lowest possible. For example, CAFO waste can be spread within 50 feet of property boundaries, dwellings, schools and churches, and within 35 feet of streams. The CAFOs themselves can be sited close to our homes. An operation with under 7,500 hogs or 246,000 chickens can be as close as 1,000 feet from an existing public building or occupied residence.

After the ruling, Missouri’s newly appointed Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, was out there mischaracterizing Missouri counties and Missouri residents as causing bureaucratic tyranny.

But the truth is, Senate Bill 391 and politicians in Jefferson City are what’s tyrannous — taking our property rights and the personal rights of local communities and residents to benefit industrial livestock production and multinational and foreign corporations.

When our current Attorney General Bailey says he is successfully protecting “farmers,” he was really talking about protecting corporate agribusiness and their factory farms.

When Garrett Hawkins, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, said, “The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling is a clear win for farm families and all Missourians,” he really meant corporate factory farms, not independent family livestock producers.

When Missouri Cattlemen’s Mike Deering claimed that farm and ranch families had been handcuffed by rules and regulations, he was talking about Brazil’s JBS. In reality, this ruling puts handcuffs and leg shackles on any county wanting to protect itself and our property rights from JBS.

When the Missouri Pork Association’s Don Nicodim says, “This ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court is a huge win for Missouri agriculture,” he meant Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods.

Remember almost every time these special interest groups or politically motivated politicians seeking corporate lobbyist money say farmers or Missouri agriculture, they’re talking about corporate rights, not the rights of independent livestock producers like me.

Darvin Bentlage if a fourth-generation cattle and grain farmer in Barton County and member of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center.

Originally Appeared Here

Dozens of students presented their research projects to the public during the 18th annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T this April.

The conference featured exhibitions from students in a variety of majors. Students were required to prepare either an oral presentation or a poster summarizing their research and had to be ready to take questions from judges and conference attendees.

First-place winners were awarded a cash prize of $500. Second- and third-place finishers received $250 and $100, respectively. Prizes for group projects were split equally among group members. Six students were awarded OURE Fellows Scholarships for ongoing interdisciplinary research projects.

For more information about the Undergraduate Research Conference, visit experientiallearning.mst.edu/ugrc/.

Oral Category:

Engineering:

First Place – Jackson Piontek, a senior in metallurgical engineering from Washington, Missouri, for research titled “Low Distortion Intensive Quench of Low-Alloy Steel.” The research advisor is Dr. Laura Bartlett, the Robert V. Wolf Associate Professor in Metallurgical Engineering.

Second Place – Grace Duong, a senior in environmental engineering from St. Louis, for research titled “Biocell Reactors: Cellulose Loss and Sulfate Removal.” The research advisor is Dr. Mark Fitch, associate professor of civil engineering.

Sciences:

First Place – Shay Pelfrey, a senior in biological sciences from Newburg, Missouri, for research titled “A Glimpse into Drought Tolerance in Soybean Bacteria.” The research advisor is Dr. Dave Westenberg, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of biological sciences.

Second Place – Alexis Baiter, a senior in environmental science from Pevely, Missouri, and Kathryn Zychinski, a senior in biological sciences from St. Louis, for research titled “Insecticide Toxicokinetic Responses in Two Lepidoptera.” The research advisor is Dr. Niranjana Krishnan, former assistant research professor of biological sciences at S&T.

Third Place – Samuel Hackett, a sophomore in chemistry from O’Fallon, Missouri, for research titled “Carbon Aerogels for High Capacity/Selectivity of CO2.” The research advisor is Dr. Chariklia Sotiriou-Leventis, chair and professor of chemistry.

Social Sciences:

First Place – Jessica Frame a senior in psychology and biological sciences from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Aesthetic Judgements of Multimodal Stimuli.” The research advisor is Dr. Amy Belfi, assistant professor of psychological science.

Second Place – Brileigh Cates, a sophomore in applied mathematics from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for research titled “Gender Bias in the Billboard Hot 40 Charts.” The research advisor is Dr. David Samson, assistant professor of music.

Poster Category

Engineering:

First Place – Brendan Crotty, a junior in mechanical engineering from Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Avery Lyons, a junior in engineering management from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “A Study of Machine Design – Additive Manufacturing.” The research advisor is Dr. Phillip Mulligan, assistant teaching professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Second Place – Joseph Nguyen, a junior in mechanical engineering from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Pulse Density Modulation of Propulsion System.” The research advisor is Dr. Hank Pernicka, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of aerospace engineering.

Third Place – Ezekiel Allen, a sophomore in electrical engineering from Pleasant Hill, Missouri, and Michael Davis, a sophomore in electrical engineering from Louisiana, Missouri, for research titled “Detecting VOCs for Medical and Industrial Applications.” The research advisor is Dr. Rex Gerald, research professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Research Proposal

First place – Allie Dingfield, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Blair, Nebraska, for research titled “Density Fluctuation Measurements in Supersonic Flows.” The research advisor is Dr. Davide Vigano, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Second place – Carly Fox, a senior in engineering management from Stockton, Missouri, and Madison Holly, a senior in chemical engineering from Webb City, Missouri, for research titled “Optimization of TBR Distribution: A CFD Approach.” The research advisor is Dr. Jose Sebastian Uribe Lopez, post-doctoral teaching fellow in chemical and biochemical engineering.

Third place – Chase Johnson, a senior in engineering management from Chesterfield, Missouri, for research titled “AI Application in Kidney Transplant Healthcare.” The research advisor is Dr. Casey Canfield, assistant professor of engineering management and systems engineering.

Sciences – Section 1 (individual project);

First place – Natalie Cummins, a sophomore in biological sciences from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “eDNA Metabarcoding Murvey in Missouri Wetlands.” The research advisor is Dr. David Duvernell, chair and professor of biological sciences.

Second place – Samuel Schrader, a senior in physics from Hailey, Idaho, for research titled “Radon-Carbon Nanoparticle Design.” The research advisor is Dr. Carlos H. Castano Giraldo, associate professor of nuclear engineering.

Third place – Katharine Gray, a sophomore in chemistry from St. Louis, for research titled “Dbf2 and Cytokinesis.” The research advisor is Dr. Katie Shannon, teaching professor of biological sciences.

Sciences – Section 2 (group project):

First place – Emma Puetz, a senior in geology and geophysics from Rolla, Missouri, and Audrey Williams, a senior in geology and geophysics from Farmington, Missouri, for research titled “Comparison of Three Microvertebrate Assemblages.” The research advisor is Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, professor of geology and geophysics.

Second place – Zachary Alton, a senior in physics from Webster Groves, Missouri, and Carly Brown, a senior in physics from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Measurement of Microwave Photon Size.” The research advisor is Dr. Yew San Hor, associate professor of physics.

Third place – Arrie Gamble, a first-year student in environmental sciences from St. Robert, Missouri, Rhys Timpe, a senior in biological sciences from Lake St. Louis, Missouri, and Sage Wood, a junior in biological sciences from Jefferson City, Missouri, for research titled “Terrestrial Insect Diversity at Fort Leonard Wood.” The research advisor is Dr. Robin Verble, associate professor of biological sciences.

Social Sciences:

First place – Sophie Firle, a first-year student in biological sciences from Festus, Missouri, and Gemma Flores-Olivas, a senior in electrical engineering from Topeka, Kansas, for research titled “Effects of Ally Confrontation on Target Outcomes.” The research advisor is Dr. Jessica Cundiff, associate professor of psychological sciences.

Final scholarship payments were awarded to two fall 2022-spring 2023 students:

Gabrielle Hightower, a senior in biology and psychology from Kansas City, Missouri, for research titled “Eavesdropping on the Microbial World.” The research advisor is Dr. Dave Westenberg, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of biological sciences.

Dylan Johnson, a senior in biology from Liberty, Missouri, for research titled “Insect Diversity at Fort Leonard Wood.” The research advisor is Dr. Robin Verble, associate professor of biological sciences.

The 2023-24 OURE Fellows scholarship recipients are:

• Megan Benkendorf, a junior in applied mathematics from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for research titled “Numerical Studies on Bose-Einstein Condensates.” The research advisor is Dr. Yanzhi Zhang, associate professor of mathematics and statistics.

• Erik Bergstrom, a junior in biological sciences from Riverside, Missouri, for research titled “Mathematical Analysis of C. Elegans Population.” The research advisor is Dr. Andrea Scharf, assistant professor of biological sciences.

• Grace Duong, a senior in environmental engineering from St. Louis, for research titled “Floating Treatment Wetlands for Urban Runoff.” The research advisors are Dr. Mark Fitch, associate professor of civil engineering, and Dr. Dev Niyogi, professor of biological sciences.

• Jessica Frame, a senior in psychology and biological sciences from Rolla, Missouri, for research titled “Modality’s Effect on Aesthetic Ratings of Poetry.” The research advisor is Dr. Amy Belfi, assistant professor of psychological science.

• Steven Karst, a senior in physics from Ballwin, Missouri, for research titled “Enhancing Galaxy Surveys with Machine Learning.” The research advisor is Dr. Shun Saito, assistant professor of physics.

• Clare Koerkenmeier, a junior in biological sciences from Aviston, Illinois, for research titled “Data Analysis Pipeline of C. Elegans Dynamics.” The research advisor is Dr. Andrea Scharf, assistant professor of biological sciences.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.

Originally Appeared Here

Springfield, Missouri.  Missouri Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) welcomed 5,000+ attendees from nearly 400 chapters to the record breaking State Leadership Conference April 16-18, 2023.  Members and advisers gathered in person to expand their leadership knowledge, compete in various events, and connect with others from across the state.  FBLA members competed in over seventy-six competitive events ranging from Accounting and Business Ethics to Social Media Strategies and UX Design.  The Top 10 individuals/teams in each event were awarded medals onstage at Great Southern Bank Arena.  The Top 4 in each competitive event received trophies and will advance to the National Leadership Conference this summer in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fort Zumwalt West FBLA chapter excelled at the State Leadership Conference by participating in Accounting II, Mobile App Development, Economics, Electronic Career Portfolio, Introduction to Marketing Concepts, American Enterprise Project, E-Business, Data Analysis, Network Design and International Business and earning seven top ten ratings and two top fifteen ratings.  Members included Qihao Liang, Akshay Dyavanapalli, Chaitanya Kashyap, Saketh Subramanian, Deeksha Kamagaraj, Hiya Tanna, Aakash Sase, Benjamin Burdek, Isha Chaudhari, Anooj Shah, Sashank Yerapotina, Christopher Abiprojo, Vignesh Modigunta, Omja Singh, Steven Tran, Parul Sahu, Ella Batsios. 

Throughout their time at the conference, members engaged in over 45 various specialized leadership academies led by professional trainers in various topics such as exploring all types of leadership styles, learning various communication techniques, strategizing time and stress management, and much more.  The Leadership Expo held over 30 exhibitors including universities and military partners for members to connect, leadership activities for members to engage with, and tours of the College of Business at Missouri State Univeristy. 

Brand new for this year, leaders enjoyed a concert held by Funding the Future where the band performed popular songs from artists like Taylor Swift and incorporated the fundamentals of financial education. Both keynote speakers empowered all to pursue their passions as business leaders. Caitlin Schaefer, former Missouri FBLA state officer and current Strategic Relationship Manager at Lord, Abbett, & Co., discussed the importance of investing in yourself and defining your goals for success. Morris Morrison, world-class entertainer, author, and show host, inspired all with his unforgettable story and powerful message of perseverance and determination.

Missouri Future Business Leaders of America is a non-profit 501(c)(3) student business organization with over 12,000 members making it the second largest membership in the nation.  Its mission is to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences.  The state association is headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri.  For more information visit www.missourifbla.org.

FBLA Values:  Service, Education, and Progress

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Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY — The majority of the appropriations bills relating to the state budget were sent to a conference committee by the Missouri Senate on Thursday.

The committee will be made up of budget committee members from both chambers and will attempt to resolve differences in spending and language in the two chambers’ budgets.

The Senate budget has $4 billion more in spending than the Missouri House and does not have the House’s controversial diversity, equity and inclusion language.

Both chambers’ budget heads, Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, and Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, said they were open to discussing disparities between the budgets.

“I feel confident that we’ll be able to negotiate the differences,” Smith said.

The one difference that does not have wiggle room on the Senate side is the DEI language that the House included in the appropriations bills. Hough believes the language could jeopardize millions of dollars in funding for the state.

“We’re crafting a budget for 6.5 million people. When you insert uncertainty into that, I find it problematic. And, the majority of the folks — both Republicans and Democrats — in this 34-member body agree,” Hough said.

Democratic leadership agreed with Hough on the removal of the DEI language from the budget.

Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, said he appreciated his colleagues who allowed “business to be business,” and voted down the DEI language.

They also sang the praises of Hough’s budget increases for Interstate 70 and schools. The phrase “generational budget” was thrown around by both Republican and Democratic leadership.

“Certainly the House Democrat Caucus is very happy about the provider rates that were put in recognizing that as we invest in people of the state, people in the state do better, and I think you’ll see that,” said Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Manchester, a member of the House budget committee.

“The budget was, I think, generational in its impact,” President Pro Tem Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said. “I think the I-70 money, which anybody would be crazy not to support, is something that’s going to go on to really do tremendous things for this state in the coming decade.”

Hough’s budget gives the Missouri Department of Transportation $2.8 billion for I-70 expansion and improvement of surrounding roads. The expansion and increased funding to early childhood care were both goals of Gov. Mike Parson at the start of the session.

The state budget has to be passed by the legislature by May 5, leaving the General Assembly a week to reconcile all the appropriations bills.

Initiative petition reform

After a week of negotiations and floor debate, the Senate passed initiative petition reform with slight compromises and changes from the House bill.

The biggest change made to HJR 43 by the Senate is to lower the approval percentage for a measure from 60% to 57%.

However, a measure would also pass if five out of the eight congressional districts approve it by a simple majority.

Republicans believe this will force initiative petitions that are popular in urban areas to also appeal in some way to rural Missouri voters.

“I think you’ve got to go talk to rural Missouri if you want to get something done, and that was the point,” Rowden said.

Senate Democrats who were blocking the bill’s progress all week let the bill through due to this change. They believe the changes give more room for the citizens to approve the initiative, but the caucus is still strongly against the ballot measure.

“I would say our caucus is obviously very much against doing anything that is silencing the voice of voters, which we believe that going after the initiative petition is exactly that,” said Minority House Leader Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield.

Republicans were firm in their stance that the state constitution should be harder to amend than with a fifty-plus-one vote, which is the current IP law.

“It should be harder to amend the Constitution,” Rowden said.

The bill now goes back to the House. If passed, it would go to a public vote on the 2024 ballot.

Originally Appeared Here

A Missouri judge on Wednesday temporarily halted a first-of-its-kind rule restricting access to gender-affirming health care for transgender kids and adults, just hours before it was set to take effect.St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo put Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule on transgender health care on hold until at least Monday. Bailey has touted the rule as a way to shield minors from what he describes as experimental medical treatments, though puberty blockers and sex hormones have been prescribed for decades. The restrictions also apply to health care for adults.Transgender Missourians and health care providers sued to stop it from taking effect as scheduled Thursday. They argued that Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.Their attorney, Tony Rothert with the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, told Ribaudo at a court hearing Wednesday that the regulations “will cause immediate, severe and potentially irreparable harm” for people who could lose access to medications that include puberty blockers and sex hormones. He and other attorneys said that transgender people who can’t get gender-affirming care are at risk of suicide. They asked for a delay of up to 30 days while Ribaudo considers the case. But Ribaudo said she needed more time to decide whether to issue such a temporary restraining order and instead stayed the implementation of Bailey’s order until 5 p.m. Monday. Assistant Attorney General Joshua Divine argued that Bailey’s order does not ban gender-affirming care. The rule will require people to have experienced an “intense pattern” of documented gender dysphoria for three years and to have received at least 15 hourly sessions with a therapist over at least 18 months before receiving puberty blockers, hormones, surgery or other treatment. Patients also must first be screened for autism and “social media addiction,” and any psychiatric symptoms from mental health issues would have to be treated and resolved.Some people would be able to maintain their prescriptions while undergoing required assessments.Divine said the rule provides “basic procedural guardrails.” He cited studies showing that a high percentage of kids seeking to transition are dealing with mental health issues. He said that rather than transition they should undergo “talk therapy.”Those suing argue Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.“We don’t allow attorneys general to legislate, and we don’t allow them to play doctor,” Rothert said.Bailey issued the restrictions following an investigation he launched in February into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The investigation was prompted by a former employee who alleged the center was providing children with gender-affirming care without informed consent, not enough individualized case review and wraparound mental health services. An internal review by the university found no misconduct and determined that the former employee’s claims were unsubstantiated.Bailey’s efforts to crack down on gender-affirming health care come as Republican lawmakers across the country have proposed hundreds of laws aimed at transgender people. At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors.The Food and Drug Administration approved puberty blockers 30 years ago to treat children with precocious puberty — a condition that causes sexual development to begin much earlier than usual. Sex hormones — synthetic forms of estrogen and testosterone — were approved decades ago to treat hormone disorders or as birth control pills.The FDA has not approved the medications specifically to treat gender-questioning youth. But they have been used for many years for that purpose “off label,” a common and accepted practice for many medical conditions. Doctors who treat transgender patients say those decades of use mean the treatments are not experimental.Critics have raised concerns about children changing their minds. Yet the evidence suggests detransitioning is not as common as opponents of transgender medical treatment for youth contend, though few studies exist.——-Ballentine reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. —

A Missouri judge on Wednesday temporarily halted a first-of-its-kind rule restricting access to gender-affirming health care for transgender kids and adults, just hours before it was set to take effect.

St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo put Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule on transgender health care on hold until at least Monday.

Bailey has touted the rule as a way to shield minors from what he describes as experimental medical treatments, though puberty blockers and sex hormones have been prescribed for decades. The restrictions also apply to health care for adults.

Transgender Missourians and health care providers sued to stop it from taking effect as scheduled Thursday. They argued that Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.

Their attorney, Tony Rothert with the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, told Ribaudo at a court hearing Wednesday that the regulations “will cause immediate, severe and potentially irreparable harm” for people who could lose access to medications that include puberty blockers and sex hormones.

He and other attorneys said that transgender people who can’t get gender-affirming care are at risk of suicide.

They asked for a delay of up to 30 days while Ribaudo considers the case. But Ribaudo said she needed more time to decide whether to issue such a temporary restraining order and instead stayed the implementation of Bailey’s order until 5 p.m. Monday.

Assistant Attorney General Joshua Divine argued that Bailey’s order does not ban gender-affirming care.

The rule will require people to have experienced an “intense pattern” of documented gender dysphoria for three years and to have received at least 15 hourly sessions with a therapist over at least 18 months before receiving puberty blockers, hormones, surgery or other treatment. Patients also must first be screened for autism and “social media addiction,” and any psychiatric symptoms from mental health issues would have to be treated and resolved.

Some people would be able to maintain their prescriptions while undergoing required assessments.

Divine said the rule provides “basic procedural guardrails.” He cited studies showing that a high percentage of kids seeking to transition are dealing with mental health issues. He said that rather than transition they should undergo “talk therapy.”

Those suing argue Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.

“We don’t allow attorneys general to legislate, and we don’t allow them to play doctor,” Rothert said.

Bailey issued the restrictions following an investigation he launched in February into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The investigation was prompted by a former employee who alleged the center was providing children with gender-affirming care without informed consent, not enough individualized case review and wraparound mental health services. An internal review by the university found no misconduct and determined that the former employee’s claims were unsubstantiated.

Bailey’s efforts to crack down on gender-affirming health care come as Republican lawmakers across the country have proposed hundreds of laws aimed at transgender people. At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors.

The Food and Drug Administration approved puberty blockers 30 years ago to treat children with precocious puberty — a condition that causes sexual development to begin much earlier than usual. Sex hormones — synthetic forms of estrogen and testosterone — were approved decades ago to treat hormone disorders or as birth control pills.

The FDA has not approved the medications specifically to treat gender-questioning youth. But they have been used for many years for that purpose “off label,” a common and accepted practice for many medical conditions. Doctors who treat transgender patients say those decades of use mean the treatments are not experimental.

Critics have raised concerns about children changing their minds. Yet the evidence suggests detransitioning is not as common as opponents of transgender medical treatment for youth contend, though few studies exist.

——-

Ballentine reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY — Lawyers working for Attorney General Andrew Bailey withdrew last week from a lawsuit lodged against Missouri by a politically connected company that has flooded the state with unregulated slot machines.

A photo of children using unregulated slot machines in a lawsuit against them (from court filings). 

The action follows tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to a political action committee supporting Bailey from committees that have received contributions from the plaintiffs in the case.

The committees are also tied to Steve Tilley, a lobbyist for the two plaintiffs in the case, Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil.

Warrenton Oil in December contributed $1,000 directly to Bailey’s PAC, called Liberty and Justice.

Torch Electronics, a Wildwood firm, and Warrenton Oil, which offers Torch games at its gas stations, in 2021 asked a Cole County judge to issue an order stopping the Missouri Highway Patrol from seizing machines as part of a crackdown on illegal gambling. The case is pending.

The contributions to Bailey raised questions about whether Bailey’s attorneys withdrew from the case because of a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest.

“Our office followed our longstanding practice of retaining conflict counsel to avoid any appearance of impropriety,” Madeline Sieren, spokeswoman for Bailey, said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday.

The Post-Dispatch reported in 2021 that a spokesman for then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, said Schmitt’s U.S. Senate campaign returned a contribution from the owner of Torch Electronics after conflict of interest concerns were raised.

Sieren did not respond to a question asking why Bailey didn’t return the money and continue work on the case.

Court records show assistant attorneys general David McCain and Jason Lewis withdrew from the case on Wednesday.

In their place, private attorney Scott Pool, of Gibbs Pool and Turner PC, filed an entry of appearance as the Department of Public Safety’s new counsel.

It was initially unclear how much money taxpayers would pay the private law firm because of the decision to remove state attorneys from the case.

“We’re paying them the same contract rate we pay all outside counsel,” Sieren said.

Records show five political action committees associated with Tilley gave a total of $25,000 to Bailey’s PAC in December.

The committees — the MO Majority PAC, the Missouri Senior PAC, the Missouri C PAC, the Missouri AG PAC, and the Missouri Growth PAC — all received $40,000 in contributions from Torch in May.

Warrenton Oil, meanwhile, sent $75,000 to the five PACs in question last year.

The attorney general’s campaign committee accepted $2,825 from all five committees in question on March 27, the maximum allowed to a campaign committee under state law, ethics commission records show.

One of his potential rivals in the attorney general’s race criticized Bailey for not returning the money and hiring private lawyers instead.

“Andrew Bailey wants to keep his campaign contributions from illegal gambling companies,” said Elad Gross, a Democrat running for attorney general, said on Twitter. “So now, instead of enforcing the law, he’s making the state spend more taxpayer money to hire a private attorney to do his job!”

The donations come as Bailey gears up for what is expected to be an expensive GOP primary between the attorney general, appointed to the post by Gov. Mike Parson, and Will Scharf, a former federal prosecutor from Clayton who has attracted support from high-profile Republican donors.

While Bailey has used the state Merchandising Practices Act to limit medical care for transgender people, he has taken no similar action to protect consumers from unregulated slot machines that don’t require a minimum payout. (State-sanctioned slots must pay out 80%.)

A second state law gives the attorney general the ability to file lawsuits against “gambling houses” to enjoin illegal gambling activity.

Efforts to crack down on the unregulated machines have failed in the Legislature for years amid lobbying by Torch.

Past legislation would’ve clearly classified unregulated games as illegal, erasing any ambiguity from current law.

After a Platte County judge ruled another company had violated

• current state law on illegal gambling, one state senator last year expressed disappointment that more prosecutors hadn’t taken action against unregulated slots.

“It’s always frustrating when it takes a second law to deem something that’s illegal … to try to address it because of the lack of action of the prosecutors,” said then-Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby.

Moments after being sworn in as the state’s 44th attorney general in January, Bailey signaled he was fine with the status quo.

“That is an issue that’s up to local law enforcement investigators and local prosecutors,” Bailey said.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, announces Andrew Bailey as the next attorney general for the state.

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Originally Appeared Here