By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Congressman Sam Graves expresses frustration with his meetings with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials in wake of historic flooding in northwest Missouri.

Graves says Corps officials stick to a familiar theme when explaining what went wrong that led to the widespread flooding which covered farmland, destroyed homes, and heavily damaged communities in his district.

“It’s like every flood. It’s the same thing, over and over and over again,” Graves tells reporters after hosting a roundtable discussion in St. Joseph. “It’s not having enough capacity above the dams to be able to hold that water back while if we have an incident like we had south of the dams, there’s not enough capacity to be able to keep that water up north or to being able to handle the snow melt that’s coming down.”

Graves faults how the Corps of Engineers managed the Missouri River during his discussion with officials from northwest Missouri. Graves contends the Corps should have better prepared for the heavy influx of excess water in March by releasing more water from the six upstream dams in December and January.

He worries whether communities can recover and whether farmers can absorb the losses.

“Are those communities going to be able to come back? Again, are these farmers?” Graves asks. “We have a lot of farmers out there that plan for this, but we have a lot of farmers out there, too, particularly those who are just getting started that don’t have the capacity to be able to absorb an entire year with no income and they can’t put a crop in, because they’re still exposed as a result of the levee breaches.”

Whether compensation for the losses is coming their way remains up in the air.

A disaster aid package, which includes money to offset losses from the flood, has stalled in Congress. Graves is confident federal aid will be approved at some point, but Graves says the package will have to be handled differently than in the past.

“We’re waiting on the Senate. It has failed twice (in the Senate),” Graves says, “So, now the House, we’re going to do a package on our side. We’re going to basically take some of the Senate language and we’re going to send it back over to the Senate.”

Graves says the package will pass once Congress agrees on how much more money will be allocated to help Puerto Rico in its ongoing recovery efforts in wake of Hurricane Maria which struck  in 2017.

If approved, federal funds could be freed for farmers unable to plant this year as well as money to offset the loss of stored grain ruined by floodwaters. Money could also be made available for homeowners and communities impacted by the flood.

 

 

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt says the Air National Guard 139^th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Airport remains a vital part of the national defense.

Congress last year approved a defense budget which contains money to modernize the Air Guard’s C-130s as well as improve the Advanced Airlift Tactical Training Unit at Rosecrans.

Blunt says the Pentagon has yet to get back to him about when the 8^th C-130 aircraft will return to the 139^th Airlift Wing. Blunt is pressing military officials to return the Air Guard in St. Joseph to its full strength.

“We are going to be working hard to be sure that we get that 8^th plane back here as we’re working to move forward with the training facility that’s being built so that the on the ground simulator also maximizes its purpose,” Blunt tells reporters during a visit to St. Joseph. “This is an important part of our national priority for defense.”

The defense bill passed by Congress last year provided money to modernize the Air Guard’s C-130 aircraft as well as make improvements to the Advanced Airlift Tactical Training unit at Rosecrans.

Potential flooding hasn’t seemed to undermine the faith the Pentagon has in basing the 139^th at Rosecrans Airport.

Blunt says changes made in wake of previous floods seemed to work when floodwaters threatened this year.

“Moving that water on through so that the water doesn’t come into the area in St. Joe that used to be flooded or doesn’t go across the river to Elwood, Kansas or Rosecrans, either one. I think we have enough information from what we’ve seen this year that the work that’s about to be completed on the east side of the river and the work that is now bid and about to be fully engaged on the other side of the river appear that that plan is going to do exactly what we want it to do,” according to Blunt

Blunt says the Pentagon demonstrated its faith in Rosecrans by investing $40 million in the military operations at the Air Guard base. Floodwaters this year threatened to top the levee protecting Elwood, Kansas, but sand-bagging efforts proved successful.

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

St. Jo Frontier Casino is set to re-open, after flooding closed the casino along the Missouri River for the past 31 days.

Frontier Casino Vice President Mike Tamburelli says the casino will open at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, after going through quite an ordeal.

“You know it has; the river, the water,” Tamburelli tells St. Joseph Post. “We were following it every day, took a while for the river to go down, to get access to the property. So, we had a restoration team come in and they started cleaning up our land-based facility, which was heavily damaged.”

The land-based portion of the casino remains under repair. It houses the bar, buffet, and ballroom. It might take another two months for repairs to be completed to that portion of St. Jo Frontier Casino.

Tamburelli says he knows the public has been waiting for the re-opening.

“I’ve been going out to eat locally and they’re asking me, when are you going to open, when are you going to open?” Tamburelli says.  “Yesterday, I was at a restaurant in town and four ladies came up (to me) and asked, ‘When you opening?’”

The casino, slots and tables, opens for regular business tomorrow morning at eight. Food and drink will be available through the bar and grill in the casino portion of the complex.

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A United States Senator from Kansas is frustrated that a disaster aid package, which would provide assistance to flood victims, has stalled in Congress.

But, Sen. Jerry Moran says presidential politics might help.

Moran, a Republican, says Midwestern flooding which has caused at least three billion dollars in damage has gotten the attention of many in Washington, especially those with aspirations for the White House.

“There are people now who are paying attention to this legislation that makes it more likely that we can get it done,” Moran tells St. Joseph Post. “And, again, in a presidential year, Republicans and Democrats, those who want to be president and those who are president, need to be paying attention to the Midwest.”

Moran points out presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, attended a Senate public hearing on flood damage held in Iowa, where she was campaigning. Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee which held the hearing in Glenwood, Iowa, just across the river from Omaha.

Moran attended the hearing after touring flood damage in northeast Kansas.

Moran contends the Corps doesn’t prioritize flood control in its management of the Missouri River. Also, Moran believes the Corps cares a bit more about the northern Missouri River basin at the expense of the southern portion.

“From Gavin’s Point up on the South Dakota border south, it seems that that’s not a priority,” Moran says. “The lakes and reservoirs that hold the water are in South and North Dakota. Those are clearly important, but when we appropriate money for flood control in the Missouri River basin, places like Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas cannot be forgotten.”

Moran says it appears more pressure is being applied to the Corps to change the master manual which guides how it manages the Missouri River.

Moran says flooding, which has caused at least three billion dollars in damage, might not be over this year.

“Last time we had major floods like this they occurred in the summer months. What that means is that we have a lot of water already here and yet spring rains and snow melt are yet to occur and we need to make certain the Corps is doing everything they can in managing the reservoirs and controlling the release of water to get water downstream before more water comes in the next weeks and months.”

The hearing focused on how the Corps of Engineers manages the river and whether the master manual which guides operation of the Missouri River upstream dams should be changed in wake of the 1993, 2011, and 2019 floods.

 

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials came under heavy criticism for its management of the Missouri River during a US Senate hearing held in Iowa today.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst, who farms near Tarkio, attended the meeting and says the Corps is always careful how it answers questions about its river management, saying it follows the 2004 Missouri River Master Manual. Hurst says the follow-up question is:  does the manual need to be changed?

“The mayor of Hamburg was there and a couple of people; one person from Iowa, a lawyer who represents the levee districts and then a farmer from just north of where I live in Fremont County, Iowa and all of us said, yeah we’ve got to do that,” Hurst tells St. Joseph Post. “So, yes, absolutely it was recommended by all of us.”

Widespread flooding along the Missouri River this year has caused at least $3 billion in damage. Nebraska, hit hard when an upstream dam failed on the Niobrara River, reported $1.4 billion in damage to the federal government while Iowa reported $1.6 billion. Missouri has yet to deliver its official damage estimate to the federal government, not has Kansas.

The United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held an official hearing at Glenwood, Iowa, just outside Omaha, very close to where the Missouri River left its banks and swamped much of southwest Iowa, shutting down Interstate 29.

The Corps of Engineers has come under harsh criticism for its management of extra water coming into the Missouri River basin, but Corps officials say they handled excess water as best they could under the circumstances. Much of the extra water came in below the six upstream Missouri River dams used to control flows into the Missouri River.

Missouri officials have been hesitant to heap too much criticism on the Omaha and Kanas City Corps of Engineers offices, stating the offices are guided by that Missouri River Master Manual revised in 2004.

Hurst says Washington seems to finally be getting the message that something must change on management of the Missouri River.

“Yeah, I think we’re making progress,” Hurst says. “It’s a shame it’s taken so much loss to get to where we are, but we are making progress.”