(Missourinet) – The Missouri Department of Agriculture says they are investigating 115 complaints about pesticides in four southeast Missouri counties.

MDA Division Director Judy Grundler addressed the Missouri House Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources on Thursday.

Grundler told the Committee that there are currently 70 active investigations encompassing almost 40,000 acres and more than 400 fields. She could not provide specific details to lawmakers, because it’s enforcement-sensitive.

“We also see damage in peaches. We are hearing damage in peanuts, watermelons, tomatoes and also some alfalfa has been reported,” Grundler said.

Grundler told the Committee that the 115 complaints have come since June 22, one month ago.

“To put that in perspective, typically we receive somewhere between 75 and 80 complaints on pesticide use throughout the state in a single year,” Grundler said.

Grundler told lawmakers there have been seven MDA investigators in the Bootheel. She also announced that a July 29 meeting is planned at the Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville.

Committee Chairman State Rep. Craig Redmon (R-Canton) is pleased with the Department’s investigation into the pesticide complaints.

“Agriculture is our number one industry and we’ve got to take care of it and protect it,” Redmon said. “So we don’t need a few bad players ruining it for everybody, and hopefully that’s what’s going to come out of these meetings,” he said.

State Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville) tells Missourinet he will introduce legislation in January to increase penalties on those who illegally spray pesticides. Rone wants to increase the fine from $1,000 per field to $10,000 per field.

Rone says he’ll ask House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) to fast-track the bill.

(Missourinet) – Some state lawmakers want to learn about spending practices and purchased land involving three state departments. Representative Craig Redmon (R-Canton) is chairing a committee that will meet Thursday with the Departments of Conservation, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

Redmon says lawmakers must be watchdogs when state money is involved.

“In light of what has transpired the last couple years with the state parks situation and land being purchased that the legislature wasn’t aware of completely, I just felt like having these monthly meetings and getting the departments in and looking them in the eye and saying are you purchasing any new land and if so where and get some details on that. That’s really the crux of what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re an appropriations committee and we need to stay on top of the money,” says Redmon.

Some have criticized DNR’s $11 million land purchase in Oregon County, saying they weren’t told beforehand about the buy. The department used money from settlements with lead mining companies to pay for the land. Others supported the agency’s move, saying it will preserve the land for generations to come.

“The old saying about when the cats will play, the mice will play. The cats going to stick around every month and ask these guys if they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing and making sure these land purchases have the scrutiny of the legislature,” says Redmon.

He thinks the departments are being forthcoming when reviewing expenditures and land purchases.

“I think it’s just a matter of us doing our job and staying on top of things,” says Redmon.

The meeting will be held at 11 a.m. at the Missouri capitol.

(Missourinet) – The Kansas City man who killed three officers and injured three others in Baton Rouge Sunday received five medals while serving as a Marine. U.S. Marine Corps Deputy Public Affairs Officer Yvonne Carlock tells Missourinet that Gavin Long, 29, was awarded the following:

Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (3rd Award); Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Navy Unit Commendation Medal

Long was discharged as a Marine sergeant in 2010, after serving five years. The U.S. Marine Corps did not say why Long was discharged.

Long’s official military personnel file says he was a data network specialist. He served in Iraq from 2008-2009.

Long was shot and killed Sunday, after ambushing officers near the Baton Rouge police headquarters. Funeral services are pending for the three officers that Long killed. Of the officers injured in the attack, one is in critical condition and the other two have non-life threatening injuries.

Long was a 2005 graduate of Grandview High School in Kansas City.

(Missourinet) – University of Central Missouri political scientist Robynn Kuhlmann says Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton before the national conventions relieves anxiety for some.

“I think it was a nice strategic move, because there were some individuals who were not necessarily sure where to go,” said Kuhlmann. “It allows individuals to go okay, this is where the party is going. Do I want to stick with it or do I want to leave it?”

While announcing his endorsement, Sanders also ended his presidential run.

“The significance of endorsing Clinton prior to the conventions just kind of releases that pressure valve of uncertainty,” said Kuhlmann.

The Republican National Convention starts Monday and the Democratic National Convention begins July 25.

(Missourinet) – The popular new Pokemon Go phone game has created some safety concerns among law enforcement. Four O’Fallon teens were arrested this week for luring people playing the game and then robbing them. State Patrol Lt. Paul Reinsch cautions Missourians to avoid going to areas where you don’t feel safe.

“Anytime you have computers involved with phones and things of that nature, there may be instances where people are being lured somewhere. So they just have to be very careful,” said Reinsch.

Reinsch says playing the game while driving is dangerous.

“Driving is a multi-tasking function and anything that a person does behind the wheel that takes them away from driving makes it dangerous,” said Reinsch. “The concentration level with this app is going to take that concentration away and make it for a very dangerous trip.”

Reinsch is also concerned about those walking and playing the game. He says some are concentrating so hard on the game that they’re walking into things and even walking into traffic without really realizing it.

(Missourinet) – A state representative wants to look into expanding Missouri’s program for court-appointed child advocates.

Representative Bill Lant (R-Pineville) said he did not realize those volunteers, who work in the child welfare system to advocate in court for the best interest of a child, aren’t in every judicial circuit.

He said those in his district, at least, have plenty to do.

“Having worked with CASA in my district, we have probably 30 volunteers in a two-county, very rural district, and they stay busy all the time. The judges uses them extensively to report on conditions in the home, how the child’s doing at school, how they’re coordinating with the foster parents, how well they’re working out in that environment,” said Lant.
Lant said those volunteers make a big difference.

“The CASA volunteer talks to their teachers, they’ll talk to the foster parents, they’ll look at the homes. They get involved in the child’s life enough to know why the child is making good decisions or bad decisions,” said Lant.

He said he doesn’t believe more state or federal money would be needed to expand CASA to more circuits, saying much of their support is also found locally.

Lant says expanding the system will require talking to judges.

The committee he chairs on child abuse and neglect meets again on July 25.

(Missourinet) – The Missouri Public Defender Commission is suing Governor Jay Nixon (D). Director Michael Barrett claims it’s unconstitutional for Nixon to withhold $3.5 million of the state public defender office’s $4.5 million budget.

“We’re an independent department within the third branch of government, the judiciary. I don’t think the Governor’s withhold authority gives him an excuse to reach across to a co-equal branch of government and essentially weaken that branch because revenues are down,” says Barrett.

Barrett says the state is required to fund defense for those who can’t afford a lawyer.

“Before you fund parks, before you fund trail expansion, before you fund a farmer’s market in Jefferson City, you have to meet your obligations,” says Barrett. “Each lawyer in the system has anywhere between 150-225 cases. The only way to handle them is essentially to process the cases. Each client is not receiving an investigation of their case, meeting with the lawyer, getting discovery done, motion practice. That’s what our attorneys have an ethical obligation to do for each and every client, but because there’s too many clients and not enough lawyers, there’s just not enough time in the day to represent each client ethically.”

The office has about a 20% turnover rate annually. When a lawyer leaves, Barrett says another attorney’s caseload will then double.

He says not properly funding his agency will mean Missouri’s prison population will increase.

“If we continue as we’re going, the right to counsel dissipates in Missouri. If just you look at the Department of Corrections budget, it has increased by $60 million under the Nixon administration,” says Barrett.

He is not in favor of a lower budget withhold.

“The legislature sat down and had a conversation with us about what is absolutely needed to get us out of crisis mode. We arrived at that $4.5 million number,” says Barrett.

Nixon’s office says expenses for the Public Defender’s office have increased by more than 9% during the past seven fiscal years, while the Governor has reduced the state workforce by more than 5,000 jobs in order to balance the budget.

(Missourinet) – Governor Jay Nixon has signed a law that will allow juveniles guilty of first-degree murder to be sentenced.

The court ruled in 2005 that juveniles cannot be sentenced to death, and ruled in 2012 there must be a sentencing option for them in addition to or other than life without parole. The bill Nixon signed Wednesday, SB 590, allows juveniles older than 16 to be sentenced to a minimum of 50 years with eligibility for a parole hearing, while juvenile murderers younger than 16 could be sentenced to a minimum of 35 years and then get a hearing.

Missouri Prosecuting Attorneys Association president Kevin Hillman says the new law brings Missouri into compliance with the Court’s rulings.

“It will allow our juries to have some options when it comes to some of the very worst crimes committed by people who just might be under the age of 18,” said Hillman.

Hillman said without the new law, juries have had limited options in sentencing.

“What the judge has to do in order to make a sentence in compliance with the Supreme Court mandate is he has to vacate the murder in the first sentence and impose a murder in the second degree sentence, and then send it to sentencing,” said Hillman.

Hillman said that allowed a minimum sentence of 10-years for first-degree murder.