However, after President Truman, one man stands above all the rest. Christopher S. “Kit” Bond. 

You can find a litany of his accomplishments in his many obituaries published around the state, but when I think of Kit Bond I think of more than his resume. 

He was a larger than life figure. Missouri ran through his veins. His every word, his every action, literally everything about him exuded a love for Missouri. 

Kit Bond left such an indelible mark on this state and our politics that years after he left public office doing the right thing for the state even if it was hard, thinking long term, bringing Missourian’s tax dollars home to invest in Missourian’s communities, to this day, is an extension of the legacy Kit Bond. 

He was the man who didn’t preen and peacock about what he was doing, he was the man who produced. 

You can have all the Twitter populism you want, but you have to produce or none of it really matters. 

Kit Bond produced. 

You can be any place in this state from Caruthersville to Rock Port, from Pineville to Kahoka and you cannot drive more than a half hour in any direction without finding a bridge, a yard of water pipe, a runway, a mile of road, a sewage plant, or a facility at a college that Kit Bond didn’t have a role in building. 

Kit Bond was more than a Governor or a Senator. His accomplishments were so vast, his impact was so immense that he became more the legacy of the love and dedication to Missouri that lives on more than a single man who no longer does. 

That legacy lived on in his successor Roy Blunt. Imagine filling those shoes, imagine being entrusted to maintain and carry forth that legacy. 

Senator Blunt did, and today you can see that same legacy continuing on this year when his successor Senator Schmitt brought home the latest fighter wing to Missouri. 

Speaking of that legacy of putting Farmington over Fox News, putting Tarkio over Twitter, Innsbrook over Facebook. Kit Bond’s legacy continues on in this state, not by the loudest in the room, or the most obnoxious social media account, but by accomplishing real things for the people of the state of Missouri. 

It was fitting that Senators Lincoln Hough and Justin Brown were on the Senate floor fighting for places in Missouri like the hospital in Salem and the crime lab in Poplar Bluff when the news of Kit’s passing broke. 

They were on the senate floor continuing his legacy of working on the real things that improve the lives of real Missourians… the Kit Bond type things. 

I have my own Kit Bond story. First, Highway 67 would still be a goat trail without Kit Bond and his amazing district representative, Tom Schulte. However, that was the type of thing Kit did so many times all over the state. 

On a more personal note it was the fall of the first year after founding The Missouri Times that I was at an event with Senator Bond. We stepped off to the side and shared a drink, told a few jokes, and made a plan to meet later in the month. 

Well, later that night I was emptying my jacket pockets and found a personal check from Kit Bond and in the memo he wrote subscription. The check was for far more than a subscription. I was so honored I hesitated to deposit it, but I’ve never forgotten it. 

State Auditor, the 47th and 49th Governor of Missouri and United States Senator are all impressive titles, but to me Kit Bond was and now will forever be more than those titles. 

His is a legacy that embodies putting Missouri over oneself, and above all, loving Missouri more than anything else. 

Kit Bond was the best of us, and to this day inspires so many others carry his legacy forward.

Scott Faughn

Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.

The post TWMP Column: Kit Bond was the best of us appeared first on The Missouri Times.

Then Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe promised the people of this state that if they elected him Governor he would take control of the St. Louis Police Department as part of a plan to bring crime in St. Louis under control.

It was a decision that I assume had to be born out of political courage and an honest desire to tackle this problem because for the life of me I can’t see a political upside to diving into this mess.

In that election our Starbucks drinking purple haired friends in St. Louis who voted for Bill Eigel. While the entire rest of state including southeast Missouri, central Missouri, Hannibal, Springfield, St. Joseph, Joplin, and Kansas City media markets that all voted for Kehoe last summer.

Now Governor Kehoe has made good on that promise.

So why would a Kehoe voter in Dexter care about what happens on Delmar? Well I’ll give you two simple hillbilly reasons:

#1 It is not particularly fun to admit, but if the St. Louis area’s economic output increases just a smidge it equates to a larger increase in our state’s economy than if a dozen counties in southern or northern Missouri increase 20%.

As a hick I don’t like to admit it, but it’s just a fact that if a road is built, or a school is funded (for now at least), or state service is rendered in rural Missourah our friends in St. Louis pay a little of the freight on that.

Further, as some of our city slicker friends don’t like to admit, it’s very hard to see St. Louis ending their decline without addressing the crime problem. For that reason alone it’s in the rest of the state’s own self interest to start to pull for St. Louis.

#2 Governor Kehoe now owns the St. Louis police department and the issue of crime in St. Louis.

It’s one of the most complicated problems facing our state. It’s going to be very difficult, some would say impossible to solve.

However, if you believe in Mike Kehoe, if you believe in his judgment then the rest of the state is going to have to choose to trust him and to get behind his efforts that will ultimately, if successful, benefit the rest of the state. Even if that means finding something to like about St. Louis.

I think there are two sides to tackling this problem. One, there is no way around that fact that Governor Kehoe’s police department is going to have to bring down the number of murders in St. Louis. If he does then I think it’s only fair for the rest of the state to compliment and highlight his and the St. Louis community’s success.

Then I think there is another, maybe the more important part of changing the impression of St. Louis to one of a safe place that is ready for investment: the public relations portion.

Outside of the murder count I simply no longer believe the statistics that are produced, and I don’t think I’m alone there. The car break ins, the muggings that are frankly too common in St. Louis for people to feel safe visiting or investing there. There has to be a full public relations campaign to show that Missourians feel St. Louis is safe before we are going to convince anyone else to move their company’s jobs there. 

I think it’s going to be crucial to see images in the media of the Governor and the First Lady having dinner downtown, maybe walking around downtown without security in the photo. No, this isn’t just an idea to see David Wasinger become Governor this summer, I think the leader has to show he has confidence that St. Louis is safe before anyone else is going to buy in. 

One benchmark that makes sense to me isn’t just reducing the murders. It will make people feel safe walking around downtown similar to how I and others feel safe walking around downtown Kansas City. If you go to a Cardinals game and after you have a few beers at Paddy O’s would you walk to the Magnolia Hotel up on Washington Avenue or would you get an Uber?

If folks are being honest, I think right now they would take an Uber because they just don’t feel safe walking those 9 blocks. Until they do, I think there is still work to be done…not just by the Governor elected by rural Missourah over the objections of St. Louisans, but by rural Missourahians too.  

With that in mind I’ve decided to take the first step put together a list of 10 things for a person from rural Missourah about St. Louis that don’t suck.

#1 The St. Louis Cardinals. The greatest franchise in the history of organized sport. Yes they are terrible right now, but by next summer hope springs eternal that they will return to form. 

#2 The Anheuser Busch Brewery. The German-American Disneyland it’s really a celebration of German culture for the entire family, complete with some of the freshest beer this side of Bavaria. Take a tour of what the height of civilization was like, you will leave a changed man. 

#3 The Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Whatever you feel about St. Louis, the former home of Chris Koster is just an incredible hotel. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out. 

#4 Stan’s Bar. Located at 5007 Macklind Ave. in south city its a damn near perfect bar. You would think you are in Sedalia, or Taos, but nope it’s a jewel right there in St. Louis.

#5 The office at the Kelley Group. It’s a great place for a meeting, or a party, or just to sit and bullshit with folks. Might be the best office space in St. Louis. 

#6 Gregg Keller’s hair. A Ladue institution, the slicked back timeless look of the silver tongued devil is a must see on your trip to St. Louis. 

#7 Frontier Park. Located at 500 S Riverside Drive in St Charles its one of the best parks in the state complete with the top Oktoberfest in Missouri. I know what the folks in St. Charles are saying…we aren’t in St. Louis. While that’s cute, you can think whatever you would like but to the rest of civilization everywhere from Arnold to Wentzville is St. Louis. 

#8 Missouri History Museum. Located in Forest Park (which ain’t bad either) is a terrific, if not a little St. Louis focused, museum on the history of the greatest state in the union. 

#9 Grant’s Farm. Another gift to the people of the world from the Busch family, Grant’s Farm is a family friendly triumph of German culture that to this day is still free to the public. 

#10 Walnut Park. Located in North City, it is where Governor Kehoe was raised. I took my son Gussie there once while on the F150 tour visiting Senator May. It will make you proud to be a Missourian when you see that a kid from Walnut Park could become Governor of the Great State of Missouri. 

Well I feel as though I’ve done my part. Now it might be a nice move for the First Lady to trade that pink shirt in for a red one next year at opening day.

Scott Faughn

Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.

The post TWMP Column: If you’re a Kehoe supporter, it’s time to find something to like about St. Louis  appeared first on The Missouri Times.

In a recent SLU/You Gov poll Parson has increased his approval rating to  85% amongst republcians, up again from February. His overall his approval rating was +10% with 52% approving vs. 42% disapproving of the job he has done as Governor. 

Further, Parson has a 49% approval rating among independents, with only 11% of democrats not approving of his job performance. However, 28% of African-Americans approve of the job he has done as Governor. 

On the economy 74% of Missourians rated Missouri’s economy as fair or better compared to just 44% rating the national economy as fair or better. 

Parson’s increasing popularity could be tied to his recent actions on the border crisis. 75% of Missourians said they believe there is a crisis at the border, and that it should solved “immediately”. 

Only 37% of Missourians approved of President Biden’s job performance contrasted with a 45% job approval of the Missouri Legislature. 

In the race for Governor, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and House Minority Leader Crystal Quade hold double digit leads in their primaries. 

In a series of questions Missourians also respond overwhelmingly favorably to school choice and open enrollment options. 

The survey was conducted from February 14th to February 26th and surveyed 900 likely Missouri voters with a margin of error of 3.74%. The full poll can be read here: https://www.slu.edu/research/research-institute/big-ideas/slu-poll/data-archive/february-2024-poll/slu-poll-february-2024-topline-results.pdf 

Brady Hays

Brady Hays is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in History. He is currently attending the University of Missouri School of Law and is on pace to graduate with his JD in 2026. He has been working for the Missouri Times since early March 0f 2022.

themissouritimes.com%20

The post Parson garners near historic job approval among republican voters appeared first on The Missouri Times.

Governor Blunt served 10 years in the Navy prior to his service as Missouri Secretary of State in 2004, and Governor from 2005-2009. This is part one of a two-part series, with part two being released within the upcoming weeks.

The post Show Me Missourah: Former Governor Matt Blunt Part One appeared first on The Missouri Times.

Tomorrow at 3:00 Governor Parson will select the next State Treasurer. If I had to guess there are four choices that the Governor has considered.

Carrie Almond –  President of the National Federation of Republican Women from Chillicothe. She has served as Treasurer of Livingston County and executive vice president of Citizens Bank & Trust, a highly successful northern Missouri bank.

Holly Rehder – The current state senator has long been rumored as a potential statewide candidate, and was the runner up for the post four years ago. She has political experience, fundraising experience, and is the one candidate who is the least likely to field a primary opponent.

Vivek Malik – A St. Louis attorney who specializes in immigration law. He was appointed to the Southeast Missouri Board of Curators in 2020 by Governor Parson.

Kalena Bruce – A cattle farmer and accountant who ran for congress last cycle. She has a lot of political talent and ran with the endorsement of Governor Parson. She performed outstanding in the only debate and has been rumored as a top candidate for the position from the start.

Ray Wagner to Bailey’s AG Office 

In a huge get for Attorney General Designee Andrew Bailey Ray Wagner is coming to the office to be his Senior Advisor and Chief Counselor to the Office of Attorney General. Wagner has a long history in state government beginning in the Ashcroft administration as well as being a long history of being an advisor to the most powerful politicians in the state.

Jesus Oeste to Bryan Cave 

Jesus Oeste General Counsel to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is leaving the office to rejoin Bryan Cave
Leighton Paisner LLP. He will be in the Jefferson City office. Oeste has clerked for Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer as well as working in the Attorney General’s Office under Eric Schmitt and more recently Ashcroft. He is also one of the smartest people in state government.

If you have time take a minute and watch my conversation with now DOR Director Wayne Wallingford. It’s the 50th anniversary of the Linebacker II mission that ended the Vietnam War and that he flew the most combat missions in. Its at: twmp.tv 

Scott Faughn

Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.

The post TWMP Column: Treasurer Selection Day  appeared first on The Missouri Times.

“It’s an honor to receive the early support of MADA and its members,” Kehoe said. “Each day Missouri’s auto industry and our dealers help drive our economy by contributing thousands of jobs and delivering billions of dollars in economic impact to our state. I am proud to stand with them and all small business owners to fight for common sense policies that build a better Missouri for our job creators and working families.”

MADA represents a plethora of automotive retailers and car dealerships across the state.

“Mike Kehoe understands our business, and small business as a whole, like no other elected official in the State of Missouri,” said Doug Smith, President of MADA. “I have known and worked with Mike since his time in public office, and he’s one of the best, most effective statesmen I have ever seen. This decision was extremely easy for us. While campaign endorsements are not a typical practice of the 84-year-old private industry trade association, it is a unique opportunity and privilege to endorse one of our very own dealers.”

This endorsement is Kehoe’s 12th in total. He has received a slew of endorsements from a wide range of groups. Thus far he has received endorsements from some of the largest agriculture groups, such as the Missouri Soybean Association, the Missouri Corn Grower’s Association and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. He has also received other endorsements from groups representing businesses and trades, including the Associated General Contractors of Missouri and the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police.

Kehoe, a republican is seeking the gubernatorial nomination as well as State Senator Bill Eigel. However, many expect Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to join the race next year. While no democrat has announced their intentions to run there is speculation that House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and Kansas City Mayor Quentin Lucas are considering a run.

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

The post Automobile Dealers Association endorse Kehoe for governor appeared first on The Missouri Times.

“It’s an honor to receive the early support of the MFPA and its members,” Kehoe said in a press release. “MFPA has made Missouri a national leader in the forest products industry, helping drive our economy by contributing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic impact.”

Kehoe now has 11 early endorsements as the lone GOP candidate that has officially announced a bid for Governor. Kehoe’s endorsements include the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, Missouri Soybeans and the Missouri Cattlemen’s association.

“We are proud to make this early endorsement and support this campaign because we know Mike Kehoe will
get the job done to keep Missouri’s economy growing,” Brian Brookshire, executive director for Missouri Forest Products, said in a press release. “MFPA members know Mike will continue to have their backs as governor because he is a small businessman with real-world leadership experience”

Kehoe’s early endorsements will be necessary for him to upset his presumed opponent, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. Ashcroft’s name recognition and family popularity will make him hard to beat.

Ashcroft hasn’t officially announced his run for Governor. However, his political committee is registered to run for statewide office in 2024 and has raised over $200,000 in contributions over the last election cycle, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Kehoe has raised over $500,000 this election cycle, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Matthew McFarland

I’m a journalist hailing from the Detroit area. I love to tell investigative stories with a focus on everyday people.

You can contact me by email at matthew@missouritimes.com

The post Missouri Forest Products Association endorses Kehoe for 2024 Governor race appeared first on The Missouri Times.

• Austin was in his tropical shirt, and was in day before election mode, a.k.a. peak Austin. I love doing his show because he has a consistent theory on government, and can apply it to about whoever, whenever. 

  

• I wore my sporting Bean and Bean Cotton hat. 
• Now if he has a bias it’s toward just absolutely burning everything down, hence his love of Eric Greitens. Well that and ratings I think spawn his admiration of the lil pervert. 
• We talked about the JeffCo senate race, it got weird. 
• We discussed Breitbart’s love of Eric Greitens. Breitbart loves Eric Greitens bout like I love the Cardinals, both likely unhealthy. We talked about how a Trump endorsement of Greitens would be helpful to Greitens. 
• Austin tried to convince me, and I think himself, that Trump not endorsing Greitens was a favor to Greitens. Little did we know how the day would unfold. 
• I told Austin what I’ve told Austin and everyone that I think a third of the undecided vote is actually Greitens voters who are just ashamed to tell anyone they are sickos and thereby for Greitens. Right now there is about 15% undecided, so I’d say there is about a 5% bump that I’d put on top of whatever Greitens is polling today. 
• I gave him a dark horse candidate to keep an eye on for an upset in the 32nd senate district with Jill Carter taking on Senator Bill White. 
• You can watch the interview here, my segment starts at the 1:02 mark: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=1633038080412310 

I got to visit with Rep. Nate Tate who is really coming on strong in the 26th. 

• Nate is currently right there in the thick of things. If he wins and Roorda wins in the 22nd then it’s the best night for labor in state senate races in the last decade. 
• Look all cycle it’s been the fashionable thing to criticize the Right Path PAC for generally being ineffective at defeating potential members of the conservaite caucus. Up until last week Lembke had played his cards amazingly well, and Right Path hadn’t really showed up very big to counter the trial attorneys in the key open seat races. Well Right Path came in heavy, real heavy against Ben Brown, who was on a path to win, and may have opened the path to either Nate or Bob Jones. 
• Nate says his message has been aimed at common sense conservatives. It’s almost an arranged marriage if the republican party is going to leave the business community and be a blue collar party then you are inevitably going to have a seat at that table for labor, and Nate Tate may be on the beginning of the trend of labor taking that seat. 
• He said he has been proud that his campaign has been 100% positive, and folks on the doors have been thanking him for refusing negative campaigning. 
• He thinks he will win starting with his strength in southern Franklin County, and go from there. He says the polls are tighter than he would like, but is confident going into election day. 

Then I got to hop on the fastest two hours in radio, on The Viper 100.7 with television’s own Vic Faust and one of the most entertaining people on the radio Eric Johnson. 

• So everytime I do this show I end up 100% agreeing with Eric Johnson in my heart, and totally disagreeing with him in my head. 
• I suggested that Trump could still make an endorsement, they all laughed at me. By all logic they were right to do so, but we were talking Donald Trump here so strap in. 
• Eric is a big Jane Dueker supporter and has his heart set on her winning. Vic told me that Mike Kelley said that while he liked Jane she didn’t have much of a chance to win, MSK knows more about such things than I do, but I tend to agree with him. Regardless, if you’re reading then she is probably somewhere saying awful things about you behind your back right now. Yes I meant that literally, all of you. 
• I told them that I thought Danforth’s candidate wouldn’t amount to much against Schmitt or Hartzler, but if gas gets to $2 then a Danforth’s guy might pull enough votes against Greitens to elect Trudy Busch. 
• We talked about Billy Long and I suggested that his strength is his personality, and everyone in the room gravitates to him, but he has to be in the room to gravitate toward him. I’m not sure if he was in enough rooms.
• You can watch the interview here, my segment is around 31:30: https://www.facebook.com/1007TheViper/videos/347963937392810 
• Now with about 15 minutes left in the show I sent Vic a text of Trump saying that he in fact would make an endorsement in the U.S. Senate race, funny radio ensued. 

Then I had the chance to visit with the deepest baritone in St. Louis McGraw Millhaven on the BIG 550 KTRS. 

• I love listening to McGraw. I love hearing Ben Frederickson, of Sedalia, break down our chances to get Soto before I went on. 
• We discussed the senate race. 
• He asked about Danforth’s candidate. Look, I was in elementary school when he left the U.S. Senate so maybe I missed his real effective years. However, my entire professional life he has basically complained about republicans then did nothing. The only thing he succeeded at was helping elect Josh Hawley and now he isn’t happy about that. 
• My take is simple, Mr. Danforth went out and picked someone he would like to vote for, not someone Missourians would like to vote for. If he would have teamed up with Dave Schatz or something that might have been different. I think that folks who broke stuff at the capitol that folks working today have to pay to replace oughta go to jail. However, no one in West Plains gives a damn about the January 6th Commission. Maybe folks should, but they don’t.  
• We visited about the Cori Bush vs. Steve Roberts race. My take is that the incumbent goes into election day as the favorite. However, if she doesn’t get to around 60% then a lot of people are going to rush to Senator Brian Williams and the pressure will be high for him to challenge her in ‘24. Now there is also going to be a huge push from national democrats to recruit him to run for U.S. Senate against Hawley. The bottom line is that he is the most skilled politician in the Missouri Democratic Party and will have a long line of people trying to get him to sign onto their vision for his future. 

We ended the #F150CampaignTour in Saline County. 

• I first went to Rep. Kurtis Gregory’s event at StoneHenge Country Club. He had nearly 200 golfers and put on quite an event. The amount of local people was impressive. 

  

• Kurtis is just a natural leader when he walks into a room, and if you made a list of people in the legislature that could one day be Governor you wouldn’t fill your second hand without naming him. That also includes folks who have lost fingers in chainsaw accidents. 
• Evidence of that is the full house, full roster of golfers, and Mizzou President Mun Choi and Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe in attendance. 
• Big propst to Kella Gregory who can now enjoy her summer after a very very successful event. 
• I was there while the “endorsement” came in from Trump. All of a sudden the room kinda got quiet and everyone started looking at their phones….just like The Donald would have wanted. 
• When Trump first announced he was endorsing I understood it was gonna be Greitens. Then you got to see the killer instinct that Schmitt doesn’t always show as he knife fought all damn day to get Trump’s endorsement as well. Amazing politics, and amazing toughness from Schmitt. Bizarre situation. 
• Imagine being Eric Greitens, and having a month of no money, falling poll numbers, and being bombarded by negative ads, and court hearings. You haven’t had a good piece of news in a month, and you’ve spent a solid year kissing Trump’s ass 24/7 and promising to do literally anything no matter how degrading or demeaning to get his support. Then on the last day of the campaign, you think your salvation has arrived. They tell you you’re getting your long awaited endorsement, but the day goes on, and goes on it doesn’t come. Then when he finally releases the endorsement that you’ve been waiting for as your lifeline to save a failing campaign…he endorses Schmitt too. If I were a worse person I would laugh, wait who am I kidding I laughed for five solid minutes. 

To end the #F150CampaignTour I drove by the Jim the Wonder Dog Museum and then dropped into Bud’s Cafe to see what folks in Saline thought about Trump. 

• Of course by the time I got there everyone knew, and in either a sign of the Apocalypse or Trump’s amazing personality every single person thought it was funny as hell.  

  

• So my hillbilly style focus group of six folks at the bar drinking free Bud Lights (one person only drinks Miller Lite, and since I only buy Anheuser Busch products unless I’m with Jeff Schrag he was eliminated from the focus group). 
• The votes went as follows: Trump jerking everyone around all day was freaking hilarious 6-0. 
• U.S. Senate race: Schmitt- 2 Hartzler- 2 Greitens- 1 McCloskey- 1 
• As most Miller Lite drinkers tend to be he was obnoxious, he kept trying to inject his views into my highly scientific focus group so apparently he is a democrat and he doesn’t plan to vote but if he did he would vote for Kunce (of course he would). 
• How many would actually vote tomorrow 3-3 
• Of those that would actually vote Hartzler- 2 Schmitt- 1 

Well that wraps it up for the #F150CampaignTour be sure to check www.missouritimes.com and our social media platforms tonight for the results. 

Scott Faughn

Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.

The post #F150CampaignTour Day 8 appeared first on The Missouri Times.

Parson signed the order Wednesday afternoon at a press conference flanked by Chris Chinn, Dru Buntin and Sara Parker Pauley; the directors of the Missouri departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Conservation respectively.

The executive order will call together the three departments to form the Drought Assessment Committee and decide the best course of action for drought relief.

Parson urged proactivity as the Southern part of the state faces severe drought. According to the federal state drought tracker, around 50% of Missouri is experiencing a moderate drought with over half of that 50% experiencing a severe drought. The drought spreads from Oregon to Boone Counties, covering a vast swath of the state.

“As a farmer myself, I know the heartache a drought can bring, especially in the middle of July,” Parson said at the press conference. “We’ve learned from past experience, the more proactive we are, the better we can help our farmers and citizens lessen the impact of even the most severe droughts.”

The departments of Natural Resouces and Conservation will work together to provide water to farmers supplied from state parks and conservation areas.

Missouri farmers have faced an uphill battle all year, facing high fertilizer and fuel costs. A drought of this scale enveloping the southern portion of the state could have dire economic impacts for many farmers.

The drought is impacting the cattle indrustry particularly hard, forcing cattlemen to decide between culling their cows now and selling into a saturated market or hope for enough rain to produce sufficient hay for cattle feeding.

“Livestock producers are having to make difficult decisions about selling livestock because there is no pasture in many areas. Grain farmers are watching their crops wither before pollination. Conditions are difficult for many Missouri farmers and ranchers,” Chinn said.

Parson suspended administrative rules and offered some avenues to financial relief for Missouri farmers. No specific spending or program for drought relief was announced besides the formation of the Drought Assessment Committee and a special session of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission on July 25.

Parson and the three directors stressed the importance of community assistance to administration during times of drought, helping the state monitor the drought and provide assistance accuractely and efficiently.

“Our partners are doing a great job helping us assess drought conditions across Missouri,” Buntin said. “We’re also relying on help from our citizens in reporting and submitting photographs of the conditions they’re seeing locally.”

Citizens can report drought conditions to the Condition Monitoring Observer Reports system.

The Parson administration doesn’t see drought conditions improving soon. Regardless of when the rains come, Parson stressed the importance of continued support to farmers through the coming months.

“This will not go away with the first rains that come,” Parson said. “This will affect these farmers in the fall, it will affect them in the winter becuase of the conditions … anytime you’re feeding livestock in July in a great amount, you know that’s problematic.”

The administration doesn’t see as much of a threat to drinking water as there was in the 2018 drought that rocked most of Northern Missouri. Southern Missouri’s access to natural water sources is expected to curb the danger of that possibillity. Parson did encourage “common sense” when it came to citizen water conservation, especially in Southern and Mid-Missouri, the hardest hit areas.

The Governor has reached out to U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt to see what federal resources may be available to the state.

“The persistent drought conditions we’re seeing in many parts of the state are a huge concern for farm families. We need to be sure farmers and producers are able to recover quickly, especially given the global food challenges we’re facing,” Blunt said in an email exchange with the Missouri Times. “I will continue to be in touch with Governor Parson, Directors Chinn and Pauley, and other state and local officials to help support response efforts.”

Featured Image Courtesy of the National Drought Mitigation Center

Matthew McFarland

I’m a journalist hailing from the Detroit area. I love to tell investigative stories with a focus on everyday people.

You can contact me by email at matthew@missouritimes.com

The post Parson signs executive order, Missouri’s drought response goes into action appeared first on The Missouri Times.

The report details many different parts of Missouri’s economic growth. The most intriguing number might be the one for seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. The rate this month is at 2.8% which is down from May’s rate of 3.1%.

According to the Economic and Research Information Center, this is the lowest the rate has been since data collection began almost 50 years ago in 1976. The last time the unemployment rate was this low was in 2019, when it reached 2.9% for a three-month span.

Missouri’s unemployment rate is better than the national unemployment rate for June, which was 3.6%.

This comes as welcome news to many Missourians, as a mix of nationwide inflation, rising fuel costs and supply chain issues have rocked the state for much of 2022.

A total of 5,300 jobs were added since last May, with many sectors seeing large job growth. Leisure and hospitality had an increase of 2,400 jobs. This is an important improvement for Missouri, as May’s job report saw a 2,400 job decrease in leisure and hospitality jobs.

Educational and health services saw an increase of 1,200, a continuation of steady increases for the sector that saw a large growth of 1,700 back in May.

Other job areas are seeing better growth since the last report too. Government jobs saw a massive increase, comparable to a very noticeable loss last month. In May, Missouri lost 1,700 government jobs. 1,100 were local and 600 were federal government jobs.

Now, many government jobs are making their way back into the fold. June saw an addition of 3,300 jobs to the government sector. State government jobs saw an increase of 1,800 and local government saw an increase of 1,700. A far cry from last month’s massive loss in that sector.

Despite an overall healthy job market, some areas are seeing an overall decrease.

Professional and business services lost 3,300 jobs. This is very different than the last report, where the sector saw an increase of 3,500 jobs.

The sector has been on a yo-yo of sorts over the last two months. Professional and business services were one of the only sectors that saw an increase of such a large scale last report and is now one of the only sectors with a decrease of such a large scale in this report.

Gov. Parson seems bullish on the Missouri economy, putting out a tweet Wednesday to highlight Missouri’s low unemployment rate.

GREAT NEWS: Missouri's unemployment rate dropped to 2.8 percent – the lowest in Missouri’s history since this data series started in 1976.

Missouri’s economy is STRONG! pic.twitter.com/KsokKrpKak

— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) July 20, 2022

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

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