Jefferson City

A bill in the Missouri Senate would permit truck drivers to file a complaint if they believe they were overcharged for a nonconsensual tow. The issue has historically been derailed by the governor.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which is headquartered in Grain Valley, Mo., and the Missouri Trucking Association support the effort.

Currently, state law does not allow affected operators to file a complaint. Sponsored by Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, HB543 is intended to help truck operations of all sizes.

Supporters say the bill would ensure that individuals are not taken advantage of with burdensome or unreasonable charges for vehicles being towed when there is otherwise no recourse available.

The bill includes a provision to give greater protection and recourse for third parties. Specifically, parties whose goods are impounded with the vehicle would be able to have them released. Additionally, the towing operation would be required to provide an itemized receipt.

Owners of goods transported in affected trucks would be permitted to file a petition in circuit court claiming the property was wrongfully taken or withheld.

The security required for the release of the commercial vehicle from the possession of the towing company would be 30% of the total charges for towing and storage.

Advocates add that the bill would give greater protection and recourse for third parties, those whose goods are impounded with the vehicle and have no way of accessing them.

Critics say there are already safeguards against “bad actors.” They add that this bill does not further these protections but instead only burden legitimate tow businesses.

House lawmakers approved the bill earlier this month on a 151-3 vote. HB543 has moved to the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.

Governor not supportive 

Related pursuits have been vetoed as recently as 2021 and 2019.

The 2021 bill sought to provide additional consumer protections for truckers facing unscrupulous tow operators.

In his veto letter, Parson said one section of the bill would have allowed the Joint Committee on Transportation to regulate towing rates, investigate towing complaints and establish for law enforcement a towing rotation for commercial vehicles.

Parson described the proposal as “legally problematic.”

“As a practical matter, the committee cannot legally function as this proposal suggests,” the letter stated.

Two years earlier, Parson vetoed a bill that included a provision to address concerns about nonconsensual towing in the state by creating a towing task force.

The governor said at the time that the state has “adequate protections” to address towing matters.

Truckers question ‘hang up’ on issue

OOIDA has spent years working with states to establish regulations to protect truck drivers in the event of a nonconsensual tow.

Since the trucker is not able to check the price of the towing service, the trucker is at the mercy of the towing company when it comes to the cost.

OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh says it does not make sense for the Missouri governor to continue to stand in the way of protecting consumers.

“We have scratched our heads each time Gov. Parson has vetoed this very reasonable legislation that would correct a serious problem in consumer protection.”

Pugh questions what the governor has against small-business truckers.

“Why does he like to see them ripped off so badly?” LL

More Land Line coverage of news from Missouri is available.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — There’s one month left in the legislative session, and Missouri Senate Leadership said it has four big priorities left to accomplish before adjourning.

Unlike last year at this time, senators on both sides of the aisle say relationships are still good in the upper chamber but with some major Republican priorities still on the agenda and the House pushing for the Senate to do more, it’s possible that all could change.

“The one thing we know about the Senate is it can change on a dime,” Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, said. “I come in here in a certain mood and it’s easily changed within 20 minutes.”

The Missouri General Assembly is in the home stretch of the 2023 legislative session. With four weeks left, Senate Leadership said there are four big issues left to tackle, along with next year’s budget.

“Some form of school choice because we have open enrollment, initiative petition reform, we have a couple of crime bills,” Senate Majority Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, said.

Republicans want to make it harder for voters to change the state’s constitution by passing initiative petition reform. This process is how recreational and medical marijuana became legal.

Another priority, allowing the governor to appoint a special prosecutor, targeting St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and the backlog of thousands of cases.

Both of these items the House has already passed. The initiative petition reform would increase the threshold of votes needed to approve a referendum from a simple majority, meaning more votes for than against, to 60% in favor to pass. This bill came up for debate in the Senate for a few hours, before the legislation was laid over, ending debate for the day.

Last month, the House also approved to allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor for every 35 homicide cases per 100,000 people. Gardner’s office testified in a House committee saying the office has a backlog of more than 3,500 cases but none of them are violent crimes. The Senate is expecting to debate this bill on the floor next week.

“I argue the ball is in their court, we’ve delivered,” House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, said. “The people in Missouri need to know that the House has worked and we’ve delivered.”

Unlike 2022, when members spent weeks and months infighting to pass a congressional map, senators say there have been more compromises this year.

“I think the relations in the Senate have been pretty good,” Beck said. “I went through last year, like everyone else, it’s definitely better than that.”

O’Laughlin said she is prepared to have the upper chamber work overtime in these final weeks.

“We will have some longer days, maybe I hate to say it, an overnight but I will do what I have to do to get things done. I think we get a lot of things done this year,” O’Laughlin said.

As for the topic Missouri sports fans want to know, Republicans say legalizing sports wagering isn’t off the table yet, but chances a bill makes it to the governor’s desk gets smaller every day. Session ends May 12th.

This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee will be holding hearings on next year’s fiscal budget. The House passed the $45.6 billion budget last month. Members have until May 5th to get the spending plan to the governor’s desk.

Originally Appeared Here

Brown School alumna Nisha Patel, MSW ’98, is an expert on social and economic mobility, and she has spent more than two decades at the forefront of the philanthropic and political landscape, leading and implementing initiatives that increase economic opportunities for families with low income. 

Currently, Patel runs a consulting business, and she works with clients to develop philanthropic strategies to increase community-centered economic opportunity. She also serves as a senior fellow at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University. Previously, she served in the Obama administration as director of the Office of Family Assistance. 

Patel traces her interest in social and economic mobility back to her own family history. Her grandparents migrated from India to Uganda; her parents moved from Uganda to England; and when she was a child, her family immigrated to the United States. “The immigrant or American dream is that economic mobility is this upward, sloping line. But the reality is, it can be more like a zigzag,” Patel says. “And that’s been true for my family.

“Each move was with that dream, but sometimes circumstances happened, like the time a dictator took over and my grandparents became refugees,” she says. “So, you can move from poverty to middle class, and then structural forces can pull that out from under you. Or they can prevent you from getting there in the first place.”

In 2016, Patel took an even closer look at some of the structural forces that impede economic mobility in the U.S. when she served as executive director of the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty at the Urban Institute. This partnership brought together 24 experts from academia, practice, philanthropy, faith communities and the private sector to produce recommendations to improve economic mobility. But Patel was not satisfied with leaving the conversation to this group.

“We’ve got brilliant people around the table, some of whom, including myself, have experienced poverty at some point in their lives, but political, social, economic contexts change,” Patel says. “The thing that is often missing — and this was really grounded for me at the Brown School — is that the people whose lives are impacted most are often left out of the conversation.”

During Patel’s first week as a Brown School student, President Bill Clinton signed the Welfare Reform Act. In the wake of the new law, each state had to figure out how it was going to implement the policy, and Patel’s practicum brought her to the forefront of the conversation. “There were hearings in Jefferson City, Missouri, and I was working for a grassroots organization arranging for parents to testify and share their stories. 

“So, this whole idea of who’s not at the table, whose perspective is not invited, I got grounded in that. I saw firsthand how disrespectful some of these legislators were to the parents testifying about their experiences,” Patel says. “I’m grateful, every single day, that I had that experience.

“There’s this quote by Shirley Chisholm: ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.’ And now because of my career, I’m often handed a seat at the table,” says Patel, “but I still bring my folding chair, because I see it as my role to give that seat to someone who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice at the table.”

Patel’s Jeff City experience was at the forefront of her mind when she accepted the role of executive director of the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty. Instead of meeting at the Harvard offices of commission members or in D.C., at Patel’s insistence, the partnership spent time in more than 30 communities around the country. (“It was a non-negotiable for me when I took the job,” she says.)

“We broke bread with people experiencing poverty and compensated them for their time because their knowledge is as valuable as these experts,” she says. 

Ultimately, the partnership came up with 13 solutions and five big strategies to address the structural forces that impede economic mobility; these are outlined in their report “Restoring the American Dream: What Would It Take to Dramatically Increase Mobility from Poverty?” 

Today, Patel would put a finer point on the recommendations. “In the U.S., the lack of social and economic mobility for many people is undergirded by structural racism. Until we address that, we will not be able to make the progress we’d like.”  

Originally Appeared Here

Eight candidates vying for seats on the City Council say economic development projects have been making progress in the Capital City and more should be encouraged.

The News Tribune asked the eight candidates for contested council seats for their views on the city’s projects and their own priorities ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Both Ward 1 candidates named the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) redevelopment project as a source of economic growth through development.

Incumbent David Kemna said he hoped to continue supporting MSP’s redevelopment project and growth in the Algoa Industrial Park area.

“I feel for both projects you are seeing a strong collaborative effort from not just the city but from the county and the state to grow both areas,” he said.

Kemna pointed to the council’s recent approval of the sale of MSP land to the Missouri Primary Care Association and the Missouri Behavioral Health Council for a joint Center of Excellence and the state’s investment in its multi-agency One Health Lab. As for the Algoa area, he said he would support work on a railroad spur extension and transload facility that are in the works there.

He also noted a planned truck plaza on Militia Drive, saying it had the potential to lead to future development in the area.

“I would encourage the continued development of both projects if I were to retain my seat on the council. I know the incoming mayor is supportive of the MSP developments, and I would be hopeful that he would also be supportive of the projects in the Algoa region as they continue to unfold.”

Jeff Ahlers, his challenger, said the movement on MSP project should encourage further investment within the historic site’s walls and in the surrounding area.

“The city has said money received from there will be used to do infrastructure work for that area,” he said. “That should spark interest in developing construction on vacant lots to build housing and apartments in that area I hope that will attract people wanting to be close to uptown.”

Ahlers said the Militia Drive project could prove an economic boon for the area and said there was potential for more work along Wildwood Drive and the Algoa area near Scholastic.

“I see great things ahead in Jeff City and look forward to working with incoming Mayor (Ron) Fitzwater to get Jeff City moving again along with city and county members,” he said.

Ward 2 candidates Aaron Mealy and Edith Vogel both said they support projects that push economic development in Jefferson City, though they differ on what that looks like.

Mealy said he wants to be a driving force for economic development in the city. That includes advocating for eliminating housing gaps, supporting parks and healthy community activities, and the opportunities that exist at the Missouri State Penitentiary property.

Mealy mentioned the possibility of a new conference center being established on the site and the new jobs that would come with it.

“I will strongly advocate for and work on our infrastructure. With new and well-maintained infrastructure, our community can grow both in resources and opportunities,” Mealy said.

Mealy also said he’s an “enthusiastic” supporter of small businesses in Jefferson City. He said small businesses have a significant role in economic development and making city government work in the favor of small businesses is vital to a successful economy.

Vogel has a different approach. She said economic development starts with having a “well-maintained city that looks inviting to outsiders.” Vogel said Jefferson City natives get used to seeing the city as it is and can forget about implementing low-cost improvements.

She said those kinds of improvements come from a desire to keep what the city has clean and appeal to everyone.

However, Vogel also said the future of Jefferson City, economic development included, will depend not only on the city’s economic scene, but the state of Cole County, Missouri and the United States as a whole.

That being said, Vogel said, it starts by working on the local economy.

“Economic development locally, supported financially by the city and county, has enough talented and experienced personnel to do due diligence to the task at hand. Some projects already planned seem to add to the concept,” Vogel said.

Vogel’s economic strategy didn’t cover whether the city’s spending is helping achieve economic development goals.

Mealy said he’ll bring a unique perspective to the council with his “expertise in budgets, grants and data-driven decision-making.” He said taxpayers deserve the best decision-making possible when it comes to city spending.

“We can reach our economic development goals by working together to find solutions, addressing infrastructure concerns, creating a workforce-friendly environment and supporting the businesses and industries that provide jobs in our community,” Mealy said.

If elected, Vogel said she wishes to work with the new mayor on driving economic development.

“He has his fingers on the pulse of the city and is a good listener, conservative in nature and not afraid to express it. We can only hope that common sense is in his vocabulary,” Vogel said.

Mealy shared this interest in working with the mayor. He said collaboration is required in order for the community to grow and he’s looking forward to working well with the mayor and City Council.

“When we collaborate and work as a team, we can accomplish big goals,” Mealy said.

Ward 3 incumbent Scott Spencer said economic development was an essential focus of the community, noting its impact on job creation, business retention, tax revenue, economic growth and overall quality of life. He said he supported the city’s current allocations for economic development and its investment in the Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership (JCREP).

“Luke Holtschneider, executive director of JCREP, has done a great job working with our local and regional business/industry partners and advocating for their growth,” he said. “Unfortunately, there was a proposal to cut the funding for JCREP in this year’s budget. I led the effort, along with others on the council, to fully restore those funds. The partnership with JCREP, along with the County Commission, has been a great investment for us locally and regionally.”

Going forward, Spencer said, the city needed to implement a wide variety of tools to sustain and expand existing businesses while attracting new ones. He said past councils made extensive use of these tools, including Community Improvement Districts (CIDs), tax abatements, Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Neighborhood Improvement Districts (NID), Transportation Development Districts (TDDs), sales tax exemptions and more to the community’s benefit.

“When it comes to economic development, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said.

He said economic development extended beyond geographical boundaries and local perspectives, now encompassing a regional perspective. He said he hoped the city would work with other nearby communities to bolster the whole region.

He also said City Hall could be a partner to businesses and developers by streamlining processes, something he hoped to work on with the new mayor.

“Change is coming to Jefferson City, and I want to be a part of an efficient and effective government that works for everyone in our community,” he said.

His opponent, Treaka Young, said she would encourage projects that would restore, develop and build properties that lead to affordable housing options for low- and middle-income people and senior citizens. She also said it was vital to find alternative transportation for residents working outside of normal business hours and on weekends.

“Over the past eight years, the city has done well with focusing and achieving development goal. Some immediate areas of improvement should include establishing a budget that includes affordable housing, infrastructure to improve the streets, roads and building sidewalks in residential areas,” she said. “I would work with City Council by providing suggestions on additional needs based what constituents have expressed and by exploring alternative funding opportunities to cover cost.”

She said she would encourage partnership between the city and other local agencies for community development grant funding. She said the input of local agencies was vital to securing growth.

“It is important that the City Council include the guidance of local agencies that have experience in doing development studies to assess the areas of needs related to affordable housing, infrastructure and public safety,” she said.

Both Ward 5 candidates said they want to promote and drive economic development in Jefferson City and specifically mentioned wanting to focus on endeavors that will create high-paying jobs.

If elected, Alicia Edwards said she’ll advocate for projects that create jobs with livable wages, as well as policies that encourage a balance between jobs and housing.

She also said she supports continuing the contract between Jefferson City and JCREP to continue using its economic development services.

“Attracting new businesses and supporting existing businesses are both important to the city’s future,” Edwards said.

Mark Schwartz said growth in Jefferson City has stagnated during the past 10 years, accompanied by job losses. He said while the rest of Missouri saw “unprecedented” job growth and unemployment rates, the city stagnated.

Schwartz attributed some of this to the “failures” of the former administration, which he said are “evident” in the data that came out of a recent housing study.

“We need economic development projects that entice and encourage business growth, which in turn generates sales tax and creation of high-paying jobs that will expand the tax base in Jefferson City,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz added the numbers don’t lie and reveal the city hasn’t been spending money in ways that achieve economic development goals.

Both Schwartz and Edwards expressed an eagerness to get to work after the election.

Edwards said the new City Council and the new mayor will need to be “proactive in providing support” for these avenues of economic development.

“I’m ready to serve Jefferson City and assure the community that the city will be proactive in economic growth,” Edwards said.

Schwartz said the new mayor should encourage business development by maximizing the city’s incentives to do so.

“I look forward to being a conduit between the mayor, county and state as we partner to revitalize our state’s capital,” Schwartz said.

    David Kemna
      Jeff Ahlers
      Edith Vogel
      Aaron Mealy
      Alicia Edwards
      Mark Schwartz
      Scott Spencer
  

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Just months after the General Assembly passed the largest tax cut in state history, the Missouri House approves another round of cuts. 

By a party-line vote, the lower chamber approved a proposal Thursday to reduce Missouri’s income tax rate, cut the corporate income tax and eliminate the tax on social security. While some Republicans say it was a priority, Democrats warn this could hurt the state financially in the future. 

“It may be the largest, most irresponsible thing that we could possibly be doing at this moment,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said after Thursday’s vote. 

This tax cut package comes less than six months after the governor called a special session to lower the income tax rate. This session, it’s priority for some GOP members to slash the rate again. 

Top Stories: St. Louis lauds female firefighters, but denies promotions

“This legislation will bring with it new jobs, higher wages and overall growth to our state’s economy,” Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, said 

During the special session in October, lawmakers approved to drop the state’s income tax rate from 5.3% down to 4.95%, with four additions cuts, to 4.5%. Deaton’s bill would drop the rate down immediately to 4.5% and then, with additional cuts, take it down to 4.05% if certain revenue growth is met. 

“We believe the people deserve more and we believe we can do better,” House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, said. “This tax cut stems from the dialogue last fall. Numerous elements that were discussed with the tax cut in the fall were included with the idea that they could be included at a future date.”

This legislation also would lower the state’s 4% corporate income tax rate down to 2% starting in 2024. Then, beginning in 2025, the rate would drop to 1% if the state hits a certain revenue threshold with the goal of eliminating the tax all together in the future. 

“Cutting taxes isn’t how you’re going to bring Missouri businesses,” Rep. Deb Lavender, R-Manchester said. “We have the lowest tax structure of the states around us. It would be nice if once you tried something different than offer a historic tax cut that just keeps us living in poverty as a state.”

Corporate taxes brought in more than $909 million last year. It’s estimated that cutting the tax in half would cost the state $355 million annually. 

“If we can’t afford to give teachers a pay raise, how in the world can we afford a billion-dollar tax cut that is going to be ongoing?,” Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis said on the House floor. “It’s bad policy. We haven’t even seen the impacts of the “historic tax cut” you all passed just a few months ago.”

Earlier this year, the state recorded a $6 billion surplus in the state treasury. While the legislation passed with a vote of 111-48, there was a provision both side of the aisle said they supported 

“Seniors who’ve worked hard all their lives paying taxes, their entire working careers, it will eliminate all taxes on their hard earn social security benefits.” Deaton said. 

That part of the bill is estimated to cost the state $144 million annually.

“We’re putting money back into our economy, with the taxpayers, were it originated from,” Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho said. 

While Missouri state workers and teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation, Democrats say the $6 billion in the bank should be used on investments instead. 

“This is an opportunity to stand with the voice we hear every day who say we need livable wages,” Rep. Yolanda Young, D-Kansas City, said. “I fear we will regret this later.”

Overall, the price tag of the legislation is more than $1.3 billion when fully implemented. This comes at a time when the General Assembly is also working on its largest budget in state history. 

Back in January, the governor asked lawmakers in his State of the State Address to spend more than $51 billion to increase childcare subsidies, widen I-70 and expand pre-k. The House plans to debate the budget on the floor next week. 

The bill is now headed to the Senate, where lawmakers have until May 12 to get it to the governor’s desk. 

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY — Senators came to agreement early Tuesday on a compromise on a bill limiting transgender rights.

The agreement followed a high-energy rally Monday by bill supporters in the Capitol rotunda.

The rally with attendance upwards of 150 people drew a wide range of speakers expressing support for various bills restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

The “Missouri Kids FIRST Rally,” organized by the Missouri Freedom Foundation PAC, filled the rotunda with Missourians, legislators and elected state officals who support a bill from Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, also known as the “Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.”

The rally took place in the hours before the Senate returned to session at 4 p.m.

Senate Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, adjourned the Senate a day early on March 8 as Senate Democrats filibustered against the bill, which would ban gender affirming medical procedures for minors such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries.

O’Laughlin had been working behind the scenes with a number of senators to craft a compromise that would allow passage of the bill. 

Following O’Laughlin’s adjournment, eight Republican senators signed a statement with their intent to push Moon’s legislation through the Senate once they returned from spring break using “whatever tools and procedures necessary.” The signees were Moon; Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon; Jill Carter, R-Granby; Ben Brown, R-Washington; Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring; Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg; Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester and Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville.

“This isn’t anti-anything. It’s pro children,” said Jodi Grace, one of the organizers of the rally. “If I thought this was anti-trans, I wouldn’t have invited them here today.”

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft as well as other speakers repeatedly called these procedures and hormonal therapy “chemical castration.”

In the rotunda, signs were distributed with the phrases, “Kids First,” “No Drugs” and “Yes Now.” Among the speakers were legislators who have been outspoken in favor of legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care for minors: Hoskins, Eigel, Carter and Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson. They reiterated their

Catherine Dreher, vice chair of the Missouri Libertarian Party, said that “sex reassignment surgeries for children as child abuse because no child could possibly consent.”

Former Sen. Bob Onder called out Senate and House leadership to act on this legislation: “If you don’t protect kids, we have no use for you.”

A common message among speakers was disappointment in the handling of the investigation of Washington University’s transgender center.

Earlier Monday, Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that gender affirming care for transgender minors will be subject to increased regulations for the next 180 days.

The regulations formulated and announced Monday by Bailey include additional requirements for informed consent and restrictions on who is allowed to access gender affirming care.

Bailey said in a statement that the regulations are allowed under “existing Missouri law governing unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practices, including in administering health care services.”

Throughout the statement, he referred to gender affirming care, such as puberty

The statement emphasized the risks for using puberty blockers, including a report by the Food and Drug Administration that warns of risks for brain swelling as a result of these medications. That warning was based on six patients who were taking puberty blockers, and only one patient was taking the medication for gender affirming care.

Bailey is placing additional limits on gender affirming care, including a required 18 months of psychological evaluation before a patient is allowed to receive care. Patients also must be assessed for autism spectrum disorder, and providers must ensure that all previous mental health conditions in a patient have been treated.

Robert Fischer, director of communication for PROMO Missouri — an LBGTQ advocacy group, responded in a statement: “It is clear his office does not respect the professional guidelines of every major medical association in our country, who agrees gender-affirming health care is the standard of care for transgender Missourians.”

Between 10 and 20 people attended the rally as counter-protesters. Some donned protective padding and face masks, while others wore transgender pride flags as capes. They demonstrated their opposition to the bills by booing speakers, showing “thumbs down” and wearing LGBTQ patches. Eigel labelled them “antifa.”

Supporters of the SAFE Act moved from the rally to fill the Senate gallery to put pressure on the senators but had mostly emptied out before 7 p.m. as the filibuster by Democrats droned on through the night.

Rather than bringing up Moon’s bill, Senate leadership took up SB 39 from Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Sikeston, which would separate athletics on the basis of gender. Both Democratic and Republican senators spoke at length on the floor while amendments were being worked on to add the SAFE Act to Rehder’s bill.

Other states such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Utah, West Virginia, Florida and Mississippi have recently passed bans on gender affirming health care for transgender youth.

Hoskins said these other states had no trouble passing the SAFE Act with “no compromise,” shaming the Missouri legislature for its trouble in passing the act.

“I’m not afraid of a small group of misguided Democratic senators,” said Eigel. “And I’m not afraid to stay up all night … I’m tired of hearing about other states doing the right thing.”

Democrats like Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, cited mental health as a reason for opposing this legislation.

“You can’t be physically healthy without being mentally healthy and you can’t be mentally healthy without having your physical health as well,” said McCreery. She said that there were other pieces of legislation that she considers more important in protecting children, such as addressing food insecurity or making college tuition more affordable.

Jamie Holcomb contributed to this report.

Originally Appeared Here

Around two dozen stakeholders gathered Wednesday evening at City Hall to discuss possible uses for a federal grant.

By the end of the hour and a half long session, Neighborhood Supervisor Rachel Senzee said the discussion ultimately led back to the city’s housing issue.

“It sounds like all things housing, all things from across the continuum from homelessness to home ownership, is what we’re looking at here,” she said.

Senzee and Neighborhood Services Specialist Anne Stratman led a discussion on the results of the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Consolidated Plan survey meant to guide the city’s use of funds from 2024-29. Jefferson City was established as an entitlement community in 2004, according to the presentation, which allowed the city to receive an annual grant based on congress’s approval of the federal budget. The 2023 grant allotment from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development amounts to $268,051.

The plan was initiated to assess community development needs, including affordable housing, and to serve as a framework for identifying other priorities. Activities are required to focus on one of several objectives: benefits to low- to moderate-income residents, elimination of slums or blight, or addressing an urgent health and safety need.

The survey focused in on six large areas with numerous subcategories underneath them: acquisition and disposition, public facilities, public infrastructure, public services, housing, and economic development. It was open for around a month and closed on Jan. 27.

Of 91 people who took the survey, 61 identified themselves as residents. Twelve of the survey respondents were business owners, nine were services providers, seven were housing providers and 10 were local, state or federal employees.

Residents were asked for the top five priorities they wanted to see accomplished during the next five years. One priority, homeless facilities, took the top spot by a wide margin with 42, with street improvements taking the second spot at 33. Child care centers received 30 points, new housing constriction received 24 and clearance or demolition of buildings rounded out the top five with 20.

The meeting was meant to give staff direction moving forward, with much of Wednesday’s discussion revolving around those top five items and the connective tissue they share.

Angela Hirsch, executive director of the Ripe and Abuse Crisis Service (RACS), said the group received around a dozen calls a day from people experiencing homelessness who are seeking shelter. She said the average stay for survivors and their children used to be around six months, but the current average has reached around nine months.

“The biggest reason for this extended stay is the housing situation in our community. These families come to us for a safe place to stay because it’s not safe for them in their home, and then there’s nowhere for them to go,” Hirsch said. “Ninety percent of the people that we see in shelter want to stay in Jefferson City, either because they come here fleeing another community or because they have another support system here.”

Building Community Bridges (BCB) co-founder Doug Wright said tackling the housing issue would make an impact on shelter for the homeless population, with the demolition of vacant or blighted properties another opportunity to build something new.

“If we focus on the housing situation, you’ve got the homeless taken care of, you’ve got the childcare, you’ve got the the construction of housing — all those other things are taken care of,” he said. “That’s the need at the forefront right now. … I’d rather focus on one object and let that impact other parts.”

While there weren’t any definitive plans decided on, the group agreed they wanted to see a continued investment in the city’s down payment assistance program with the possibility of a cap to awards. BCB’s Alicia Edwards said the program, which assists low-to-median income first-time home buyers with down payments, was a vital tool.

“We’ve got to think about the population of people in Jefferson City that are wanting everyone to be homeowners. They don’t want anyone to be renters because they think that renters don’t take care of their property,” she said. “I think it’s a great resource. I think it needs to be talked about more.”

With the community’s input in mind, city staff members will now focus on putting together a draft. There will be another public meeting in May to present the draft plan, followed by a presentation June 8 before Public Works and Planning and a planned presentation July 17 to the city council. The plan is due to HUD on Aug. 16.

Originally Appeared Here

Inspired by his forefathers who served their community as natural healers, Elochukwu Osoego has wanted to be involved in medicine since he was 6 years old.

Now, Osoego is a physician assistant (PA) who owns and operates a medical clinic with his wife in Jefferson City.

A physician assistant can diagnose patients, develop treatment plans and write prescriptions, but must do so in collaboration with a licensed physician. They can also practice medicine in any medical specialty area and healthcare setting.

Osoego’s path to medicine took him from Onitsha, his hometown in the Anambra state of Nigeria, to medical school in Ukraine and finally to Missouri, where his goals would come to fruition.

Osoego was in medical school in Ukraine for two years before he and some of the others learned their school wasn’t accredited. Still determined to get into the field, Osoego came to Missouri in 2007.

During his time in Missouri, he met his wife, Dara Osoego, became a PA and opened his own clinic.

Now in the United States, Osoego still had to work to get into medicine. One of the biggest challenges was becoming a PA, something Osoego said wasn’t easy.

“PA education is very rigorous. PA school is like medical school condensed into two years. The volume of material you have to know is enormous. It’s a lot of information to synthesize and be able to come up with different diagnoses when you have a patient talking to you,” Osoego said.

Osoego has worked in an emergency room for the past five years. Something he noticed during his time in the ER is most of the patients don’t actually need to be there. Many of the patients he saw, Osoego said, needed more than urgent care but less than emergency room care.

That’s where Osoego saw an opportunity.

During their marriage, Osoego and Dara Osoego had a shared, long-term goal of opening a clinic together. Dara Osoego became a nurse practitioner (NP) in 2016, which would complement Osoego’s skills when he became a PA in 2018.

“We had talked about opening a clinic but didn’t know it would happen so soon. With COVID, how COVID happened, we were kind of responding to a need actually,” Osoego said.

Osoego and his wife co-founded Innovative Medical Clinic in Jefferson City in July 2022. Together, the couple owns and operates the clinic, seeing patients and managing the business side of the clinic.

The clinic fills the gap between urgent care and the ER, Osoego said. They also wanted to offer healthcare options to minorities and under/uninsured patients.

As a PA and an NP, the couple can treat sore throats and abdominal pain, do labs, fix lacerations and drainage, do ultrasounds, administer IV fluids and medicine and more. The clinic is also only a couple of doors down from Advanced Radiology, so they can order X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and other services with ease, Osoego said.

The Osoegos are accompanied at the clinic by Dr. Debra Atkinson, a physician, and Dr. Joel Blackburn, a physician and the medical director at the clinic.

Successfully opening their own clinic has presented its own challenges, Osoego said. One of the challenges they face is some patients’ resistance to getting care from a PA.

“There are still some patients that are not very receptive to the idea of a PA taking care of them. I’ve been able to convince some of those patients, not just by words but by the level of care and expertise that I’ve put in. I hope in the future as we increase awareness of the PA profession we’re going to see less and less of those patients,” Osoego said.

Another challenge that sometimes arises is racism, Osoego said. Sometimes patients don’t want him to provide them with care because of the color of his skin, Osoego said, but you still have to do the best you can for them.

Becoming a PA and opening a medical clinic could have been the end of Osoego’s journey, but he decided he still wanted to do more for people; In addition to running a clinic, Osoego also mentors students.

His first “mentee” was Raymond Okolo. Okolo also came to Jefferson City from Nigeria and wanted to go into medicine, similar to Osoego. The two met at a barbershop in 2019, where Osoego introduced Okolo to the PA profession and its possibilities.

Okolo was fascinated by the profession and Osoego took him under his wing. Okolo was actually at the grand opening of Innovative Medical Clinic and shadowed Osoego as he worked with patients.

“It was kind of cool to explain some of the things we do, the reasons we were getting the labs we were getting and just kind of watching the same kind of childlike wonderment that I had when I first came to see what a PA could do. It was cool to see it from the other perspective, from the perspective of him looking at me,” Osoego said.

Other than Okolo, who is now pursuing his own PA education, Osoego has a few students he’s actively mentoring. He said he’s currently working on something in the background that will significantly help Black students, but couldn’t say more yet.

He said he wants to inspire everyone, but especially wants to inspire Black students because of the health disparities present in many Black communities.

For people who want to become PAs or for a PA who wants to open their own clinic, Osoego said to “just do the work.”

“It is possible,” Osoego said. “You can become a PA, you can own your own clinic. You just have to do your due diligence and find a collaborative physician who is very receptive to the idea of a PA owning a clinic, somebody that you trust and who trusts you as well, somebody you can work well with.”

On the business side, he recommended looking into the Small Business Development Center. He specifically said to reach out to Lauren Carter, whether you’re wanting to open a clinic or another business.

“I’ve always wanted to do something in medicine. There was no other path for me. My grandfather and his grandfather, they were all natural healers. Since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated with curing disease and talking to people, getting to know them.

“One of the things people forget is medicine is both science and art,” he said. “You have to talk to patients to get the information and then use your knowledge to make sense of what that patient is telling you. So one of the reasons I became a PA is to help — it sounds so cliche, but it is true — just to help people.”

Originally Appeared Here

Jefferson City School Board candidates largely saw recruitment and retention of teachers as a top challenge facing the district but saw a variety of different opportunities during the next few years.

The News Tribune asked candidates what they viewed as the greatest challenge and the greatest opportunity that the district faces during the next few years.

There are five candidates vying for three seats in the April 4 election. Candidates will be on the ballot alongside an $85 million no tax rate increase school bond issue called proposition “Kids First.”

The candidates are: incumbent Scott Hovis, executive director of the Missouri Golf Association and chairman of the Missouri Tourism Commission; incumbent Brad Bates, executive director of Missouri Beer Wholesalers Association; challenger Tapiwa “Felix” Madondo, a general services coordinator for the Missouri Lottery Commission; challenger Mike Harvey, a former First Ward councilman and Holts Summit alderman; and challenger Suzanne Luther, a former teacher and founder of a small business.

Challenges

Most candidates agreed recruiting and retaining quality staff topped the list of difficulties for the district going forward.

Hovis said, “It’s well-known that a lot of people are leaving the world of education because of what is going on around us, a lot of negativity about public education, about schools, and teaching these days is difficult.”

Hovis added the district needs to let teachers know they are important and actively recruit great talent.

Bates said one challenge the district faces is “to recruit and retain the best teaching staff available.”

The district will need to go to different areas to recruit the best teachers possible, Bates said.

Harvey said retention is a huge issue in many districts for both students and faculty.

Harvey said quality education and providing the tools necessary to do the job are top factors in getting people to stick around.

Madondo said recruitment and retention was the greatest challenge facing the district.

Some of the politics that have been inserted in the classroom can prove frustrating to teachers who “just want to teach.”

“The job is already stressful as it is,” Madondo said.

The greatest challenge for the district is legislative, Luther said.

“Things that are outside, seemingly, our control as a district, but could undermine faith in teachers, could greatly damage the money coming in to support public schools. I think that’s the greatest challenge, is navigating that,” she said.

Opportunities

Candidates saw a wide variety of opportunities within the district over the coming years.

Bates saw many of the district’s current efforts as opportunities, including the introduction of a STEM school, expansion of Advanced Placement classes and Nichols Career Center, all of which provide children a chance to learn and grow and reach a bright future, he said.

The greatest opportunity is the wide variety of communication methods available these days, including technology, Luther said, which allows for greater communication with parents, teachers and administration.

“When you create better communication, then as you move forward, I think you’ve got a solid foundation for any improvements, and I think that’s an amazing opportunity,” Luther said.

Hovis said the biggest opportunity is “to build off the momentum that we have going now.”

Hovis added the new administration has a lot of positive aspects, and the district is making progress.

Harvey said he sees an opportunity in providing what teachers need to get the job done.

“I think it’s great that teachers are creative, but at the same time I think they have plenty on their plate, so it’d be nice if they had some custom tools for that use if they need them,” Harvey said.

Harvey said he hopes the funds from the bond issue go toward giving teachers the funds they need to get supplies.

Madondo said he views the bond issue as an opportunity, including investments in Nichols Career Center, technology, the early childhood center and buildings.

Madondo said early childhood education makes a difference. When children go to school, you can tell which students learned their ABCs, were exposed to books or were read to, instead of being dropped off and “baby-sat,” he said.

“With the Kids First (bond issue), if we open up adding more children to get that opportunity to go to school earlier than they normally would, that’s a wonderful thing,” he said.

    Submitted photo: Tapiwa “Felix” Madondo
      Submitted photo: Suzanne Luther
      Submitted photo: Brad Bates
      Submitted photo: Scott Hovis
  

Have a question?

Readers can submit questions to school board and council candidates on the April 4 ballot via email to [email protected]

We’ll ask the candidates to answer the questions; the answers may appear in a future edition of the News Tribune.

To view all election coverage, visit newstribune.com/election.

 

Originally Appeared Here

WINONA WHITAKER, Managing Editor

MOBERLY — Missouri businesses tell State Rep. Louis Riggs that they have an employee shortage. “We don’t have enough folks trained up to do the jobs they want them to do,” Riggs said Tuesday during a town hall meeting at Moberly Area Community College.

Riggs, who represents District 5 – Marion and Ralls Counties – spent his break from the current legislative session visiting with Missourians. “We get a lot smarter when we talk to smart people,” said Riggs. Or, as he calls it, getting out into the “land of the sane.”

The workforce is changing, Riggs said. Technology has advanced, and the pandemic trained people to work from home. State representatives need to “have a broader idea about what we need to do from a Jefferson City perspective.”

“Our worker participation rate was historically around 70%,” said Shari Schenewerk, of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which calculates the rate, defines it as the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work.

“We have hovered, as a state, between 62 and 63% the last three years,” said Schenewerk. “So that’s something we’re really trying to work on right now. … Where are the workers? What are they doing?”

Nationally, according to Labor Statistics, after trending up for more than three decades – from 58-60% in the 1950s and 1960s to more than 65% in the 1980s – the labor force participation peaked at 67.3% in early 2000.

Over the next few years, the rate receded to about 66% where it stayed through 2008, after which it dropped again, hitting 62.7% in mid-2016, according to Labor Bureau statistics.

Companies have moved to a grow-your-own model, said Schenewerk, training employees in skills needed to fill open positions. Missouri is third in the nation in apprenticeships, she said, and community colleges play a pivotal role in that.

For many of people, just getting a paycheck is not enough. A company has to offer other incentives. The more flexible a company can be, the better its retention rate, Schenewerk said. “It’s just what the people are looking for.”

Childcare and housing are two big issues employers face in Missouri. “Low-income housing is good, and there’s a place for it,” said Schenewerk, but the state needs more homes for people making higher wages, people who make too much to benefit from federal housing programs.

The legislature is addressing childcare with the introduction of several bills, including one offering tax incentives to childcare providers and another offering tax incentives to industries that invest in childcare, Schenewerk said.

“We’re still seeing business growth [in Missouri],” said Schenewerk, but business is more automated, so a million dollar investment employs fewer people than it would have several years ago.

Randy Asbury, president of Moberly Area Economic Development, told Riggs and others at Tuesday’s town hall meeting that Randolph County has 511 employers, nearly 7,500 workers and adds 300 jobs a year.

The average pay is $21.31 and average salary is $44,000. December’s unemployment rate was 2.2%, Asbury said.

Workforce problems have no unilateral reasons, said Asbury. Companies have tried raising wages and giving perks. Being flexible and thinking outside the box has kept them in business, he said.

Workforce is the biggest issue across the state, said Moberly Area Community College President Jeff Lashley. MACC attempts to contribute to the workforce in the 16 counties it serves with its five campus locations in Moberly, Columbia, Mexico, Kirksville and Hannibal.

Middle skills jobs – those that need more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree – is one of the largest sectors of the U.S. and Missouri labor market, said Suzi McGarvey, MACC dean of workforce development and technical education.

MACC provides programs to move people into the workforce as quickly as possible through certificates, associate of applied science degrees and non-credit skills classes. “We’re trying to make things as easy and smooth as possible” as people move up in the workforce, said McGarvey.

The college also tries to change the perception of middle-skill education. Factory work is not what it used to be and not what people perceive it to be, McGarvey said. With the increase in automated systems in manufacturing, businesses need more employees working behind the scenes to keep the automation running.

Many manufacturing jobs pay more than positions that require a four-year degree, said McGarvey, and employers are realizing that some positions they’ve traditionally required bachelor’s degrees for may not need that level of education.

The MACC Manufacturing Technology and Mechatronics programs see a high placement rate for graduates, said McGarvey. “This has been one of our most popular programs,” she said.

Manufacturers snatch up graduates as soon as they finish the programs, sometimes before. “We can’t produce enough of them,” said McGarvey.

“We prepare people for the workforce,” said McGarvey, not by talking theory in class, but by giving students hands on experience. “We try to buy equipment that they will truly use.”

MACC offers hybrid and online classes so students who have jobs can increase their skill levels and their earning power with programs in business and accounting management, early childhood education and information technology and with the new veterinary technician program on the Mexico campus.

Originally Appeared Here