(Missourinet) – The busiest shopping time of the year is here and an estimated 164 million people are expected to shop during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
Eddie Giesing with the Missouri Retailers Association tells Missourinet nationwide retail sales are expected to be around $682 billion this season.
“This holiday weekend coming up for shoppers is going to actually increase by 3.4% to 4% over last year. So, you’re talking billions and billions of dollars,” says Giezing.
About 20% plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day but Black Friday will remain the busiest day with 70% planning to shop then.
“Missouri figures are really probably just very close to the national figures,” says Giezing. “Almost every state is going to be very close to the national because when they do their surveys, it’s through a whole wide range of consumers.”
Roughly two-thirds say they are shopping to specifically support Small Business Saturday – an effort to support local small businesses during the holiday season. On Sunday, about 21% expect to shop and 48% plan to shop on Cyber Monday. For the first time in survey history, the retail figures include Cyber Monday.
Adults 18 to 24 are expected to increase their spending the most.
The average shopper is projected to buy about $967 worth of gifts this season. Of the 7,500 consumers surveyed, about 61% plan to buy gift cards – the highest level in 12 years.
About 550,000 temporary jobs nationwide are also predicted to be created this season.
Missouri Mailer Right to Work law from Americans for Prosperity – image courtesy Americans for Prosperity, Missourinet.
(Missourinet) – Missouri residents are set to vote on whether to keep or sack Missouri’s new right to work law.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced Wednesday that he’s certified a ballot measure for next November’s election, unless state lawmakers assign it to a different date.
The law allows employees to opt out of joining unions in work places where the organizations bargain for their pay and benefits.
The legislation flew through the Republican dominated state legislature, and was quickly signed by GOP Governor Eric Greitens this year. But it was effectively suspended when unions collected enough signatures to get the law placed before voters to approve or reject it.
A lawsuit to block the union effort by pro right to work interests was rejected in court. Ashcroft has now confirmed that enough of the signatures collected are valid, which makes the process official.
The unions submitted well in excess of 300,000 signatures for review by Secretary Ashcroft’s office in August. The number of valid signatures required to reach a public vote is roughly 100,000.
Those signatures must total 5% of votes cast in the last governor’s election in six of the eight Missouri Congressional districts. The union signature gathering effort was robust, with 250,327 surpassing scrutiny for certification.
The breakdown of each Congressional district reveals regions of the state where union support is strong or weak. The districts with the most signatures submitted contain large unionized automotive plants.
There were 50,273 signatures from District 5, which is home to the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo. The district is represented in Congress by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.
50,017 signatures were submitted from District 3, which is home to the GM Wetzville Assembly Center outside St. Louis. 45,570 of the signatures submitted were from District 1, the home of Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay and the city of St. Louis, which has historically had a strong union presence. (A complete breakdown of the eight Congressional districts is posted below).
The secretary of state’s office has scheduled a vote on the right to work law for the November 6, 2018 election. Republican lawmakers could try to move the vote to April, when turnout at the polls is much lighter.
Unions and Democrats will likely want to keep the law on the November ballot, when their supporters are more likely to show-up. The November date could also serve to shore up backing for Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, who’s involved in a tight reelection that’ll take place on that ballot.
Several interest groups have vowed to spend heavily on the right to work referendum. The Koch Brothers funded Americans for Prosperity Foundation has announced it will finance a six-figure ad campaign in support of the law.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce has also indicated it will throw a large sum amount behind the law. Chamber President and CEO Dan Mehan said the amount of money spent on both sides of the issue will be staggering.
“I think the total cost of this campaign for either side will be upwards of $10 million and more,” said Mehan.
The public vote being sought over the right to work law is known as a ballot referendum, which has taken place 26 times since 1914, the last time in 1982. The issue at that time was whether maximum weight and length of large trucks would be increased. The law was rejected by voters.
Missourians rejected a ballot proposal to implement a right to work law in 1978, with 60% casting no votes.
The following is breakdown of signatures collected for the right to work ballot referedum by Congressional District:
Congressional District 1: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 15,983
Total Signatures Submitted: 45,570
Valid Signatures: 32,098
Congressional District 2: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 21,144
Total Signatures Submitted: 43,847
Valid Signatures: 37,218
Congressional District 3: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 18,997
Total Signatures Submitted: 50,017
Valid Signatures: 46,219
Congressional District 4: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 16,940
Total Signatures Submitted: 34,296
Valid Signatures: 26,781
Congressional District 5: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 16,348
Total Signatures Submitted: 50,173
Valid Signatures: 26,628
Congressional District 6: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 17,879
Total Signatures Submitted: 33,359
Valid Signatures: 29,148
Congressional District 7: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 17,159
Total Signatures Submitted: 33,141
Valid Signatures: 25,008
Congressional District 8: Sufficient
Signatures Needed: 15,817
Total Signatures Submitted: 31,064
Valid Signatures: 27,227
(Missourinet, AP) – Missourians can expect about 51-million Americans on the roads, railways and in the air during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
AAA spokesman Mike Right said that’s more than a three-percent increase compared to last year.
“Ninety percent of all travelers will be traveling by motor vehicle and that’s up 3.2 percent from last year,” Right said. “So it’ll be a busy Thanksgiving holiday period, in fact, we haven’t seen these kinds of numbers for at least the last decade.”
AAA expects most drivers will pay the highest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2014 with the national average for a gallon of regular being $2.56, up from $2.16 a year ago. Those flying will pay the lowest average in five years for a round-trip flight for the top 40 domestic routes.
Former fans of the St. Louis Rams football team leave memorabilia hanging on a fence at the teams practice facility in Earth City, Missouri, one day after it was announced that the football team will relocate to Los Angeles on January 13, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/ UPI/ Missourinet.
(Missourinet) – The Los Angeles Rams have benefited from a Missouri Supreme Court decision over its old practice facility in the St. Louis area.
The high bench handed down a unanimous decision Tuesday siding with the Rams in a lease agreement dispute.
The lease with the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority allows the football team to purchase the practice facility for one dollar in 2024. The Authority filed a petition asking a judge to declare the purchase option inoperable in March of last year.
The following month, the Rams filed an arbitration demand, an option that’s included in the lease. In doing so, the football team is seeking a declaration that the option is valid, which signals that the team is interested in owning the property it had abandoned.
The Judge, Michael D. Burton of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, denied a motion by the Authority to have the arbitration stayed. His decision was then overturned by the Court of Appeals for Eastern Missouri in St. Louis.
In its decision handed down Tuesday, the Supreme Court affirmed Judge Burton’s ruling. It acknowledged that there are inconsistencies in the lease agreement, but said the parties’ intent to arbitrate disputes is clearly stated.
The Sports Authority had sought to move the dispute into court, but will now be forced to negotiate with the Rams through an arbitrator over future ownership.
The facility, previously known as Rams Park, is 300,000 square feet. It was vacated when the St. Louis Rams relocated to Los Angeles in January of 2016.
The sports authority, which also owns the Dome at America’s Center, formerly known as the Edward Jones Dome, leased the Earth City facility to the football team for $25,000 a year.
The one-dollar purchase arrangement was a bargaining chip in swaying the Rams to move to St. Louis in 1995.
In June 2016, sports authority chairman James Shrewsbury explained to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch why the team would be interested in owning its old practice building. “They want it because it’s worth a lot of money,” said Shrewsbury. It’s a valuable asset.”
Executives from Charlotte-based Nucor made the plant announcement at the State Fairgrounds on November 21, 2017. Photo courtesy State Senator Denny Hoskins/Missourinet.
(Missourinet) – The largest producer of steel in the U.S. plans to build a steel bar micro mill in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia.
North Carolina-based Nucor says the expansion will bring 255 jobs with an average annual salary of $65,000. Production is scheduled to begin in 2019. The project is also expected to create 450 temporary construction jobs.
Nucor also considered sites in South Carolina, Florida, Nebraska and Kansas as it chose the location for the $250 million investment.
“This rebar micro-mill project is consistent with our long-term strategy for profitable growth and builds on our position as the low-cost producer,” said John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO & President of Nucor. “Strategically positioning this micro-mill in Sedalia will give us a sustained cost advantage over other domestic steel producers supplying rebar from outside the region.”
Nucor is 169th on the 2017 Fortune 500 list, reporting $16.2 billion in revenues in their last fiscal year. The company’s energy-efficient electric arc furnaces turn more than 17 million tons of scrap into new steel every year – making Nucor the largest recycler in all of North America.
Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and Ferriola made the announcement Tuesday during a press conference at the State Fairgrounds in Sedalia. They were joined by Sedalia and Pettis County officials, along with Kansas City Power and Light executives.
Greitens says the 255 Sedalia jobs will have a strong paycheck.
“It’s a job that you can raise a family on, job where you can pay a mortgage, you can buy a truck, you can put aside some money for kids to go to school,” Greitens says.
Ferriola tells reporters Sedalia is a family town.
“Small shops, shopkeepers, family-owned businesses,” Ferriola says. “And I was really happy to see that kind of a town. To me it exemplifies what Nucor is all about.”
Products produced by Nucor include: carbon and alloy steel — in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh.
(Missourinet) – Missouri state troopers will be visible on all interstates Wednesday and again on Sunday, during the peak of the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz says 14 people were killed and that another 553 people were injured during the 2016 Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
“So if you look at that for that timeframe, that’s roughly one person was killed or injured every 10.8 minutes somewhere in Missouri over last year’s Thanksgiving holiday,” Hotz says.
Captain Hotz tells Missourinet troopers will be stationed at 20-mile intervals on interstates 29, 44, 55 and 70 Wednesday and again on Sunday, as well as along Highways 60 and 63.
It’s part of a program called Operation C.A.R.E. Hotz says that stands for Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort.
“They’re (Missouri state troopers) being visible,” says Hotz. “We know that when people see a patrol vehicle they typically have a tendency to drive in a safer manner. But in addition to being visible, they will be enforcing traffic laws.”
Hotz says troopers will also be assisting motorists, as needed.
Troopers remind you to observe the speed limit, to wear your seat belt and to make sure your vehicle is in good condition.
The Missouri Highway Patrol’s emergency assistance phone number is 1-800-525-5555, or *55 on your cellular phone.
Hotz encourages motorists to use that number to report traffic crashes and crimes being committed.
(Missourinet) – Missouri can use a national $41 million settlement from Volkswagen for equipment that counteracts negative health effects and pollution that could have been caused by carbon emissions.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Volkswagen settled with the Department of Justice last year when it sold nearly 600,000 U.S. diesel vehicles with devices meant to beat emissions tests.
The money could be spent on things like more electric vehicles and corresponding charging stations and additional electric city buses. The state can also use 15-percent of funds for infrastructure.
The Department of Natural Resources will hold hearings to get input about ways Missourians want the money spent. One will be in Springfield on November 30 and in Jefferson City on December 7.
(Missourinet) – A legislative committee in Jefferson City has been examining the issue of student debt.
A recent report by consumer credit agency Experian shows the problem has arguably reached epic proportions.
Over the last decade, college-loan balances in the United States have jumped more than $833 billion to reach an all-time high of $1.4 trillion. The number has surpassed credit card debt and continues to climb.
There’s even a website, SeekingArrangement.com, where students are known to seek “sugar daddies” to help pay-off loans in exchange for companionship.
The Institute for College Access & Success compiled information from 2015, the most recent year for which data were available, and determined the average student loan debt in each state. Missouri came in sixth highest, with an average debt of $27,480. Sixty-one percent of Missouri graduates have student loan debt.
The legislature’s House Subcommittee on Student Debt Relief held a hearing Monday in which a discussion of challenges and possible solutions took place.
Committee members have learned through previous testimony that students who struggle academically are prone to worsen their debt by extending their time spent in college.
Republican Representative Curtis Trent of Springfield wants to look at getting students who are behind in certain courses up to speed before entering college.
“So that when they do get to college, if they need remedial algebra or they need a remedial whatever, they were able to get those classes while they were still in high school, so that they’re not trying to catch up while they’re paying college tuition rates,” said Trent.
House Democrat Gretchen Bangert of Florissant noted the single biggest stumbling block for many students is the Algebra 1 requirement, which causes some kids to forego college altogether. She thinks it would make sense to offer alternative math courses.
“If you were going into a particular field, you wouldn’t need Algebra 1,” said Bangert. “You could take a different type of math course that would be more defined toward what your major was.”
Algebra is such a big barrier for certain students that the Los Angeles Times reported in July that California Community Colleges is looking at doing away with its algebra requirement for non-STEM majors.
Bangert said finding a solution to the algebra hurdle would cut costs for students who would otherwise spend additional years accumulating loan debt.
“If you’re taking three or four years to pass Algebra 1, of course you’re going to be in college now, seven or eight years rather than just the four.”
Only three of the six lawmakers on the Committee were present for the Monday morning hearing on student debt, along with fewer than 10 stakeholders who chose to attend. Still, ideas over how to tackle the spiraling problem were bandied about.
Bangert noted that student loans are distributed every semester, and suggested dispersing the funds in smaller chunks more frequently could help students learn the budgeting process.
“Instead of getting your $10,000 each semester, you get $2,000 a month,” Bangert said. “And then you’re paying those bills monthly, so you’re learning a little bit more about the consequences, and that those bills are coming due that quickly, and how are you going to budget that money.”
Further, Bangert suggested counseling students on managing their student loans could be helpful in addressing the debt issue. She mentioned her own kids in college that have friends who’ve used leftover loan money to take a trip rather than save it for future expenses.
A study released last year by the University of Missouri would seem to back up Bangert’s idea. It showed that students who develop relationships with financial advisers make better decisions about education loans.
As far as coming up with a concrete plan to address student debt, the House committee is homing in on legislation to create a work study program.
Committee chairman Allen Andrews, R-Grant City, said it would let businesses reduce costs by allowing them to offer on the job training as a portion of wages. He said students would benefit from work experience.
“This would provide a young person, or anyone obtaining a degree of higher education the ability to get into the workforce, get real life experience, because a lot of times real world experience is different than book knowledge,” said Andrews. “And so, it’s a perfect blend to help everybody involved.”
The second term House member said he thinks a work study program could be a useful tool for students to make their loan dollars last longer.
“I think the work study program is just one that really makes sense. Will it eliminate student debt? Absolutely not. But it’s a step in the right direction.”
Andrews didn’t say if work study legislation would be crafted in time for the upcoming legislative session, which starts January 3rd.
The federal work study program offers subsidies for students to find part time employment if certain conditions are met.
Chancellor Cartwright-photo courtesy University of Missouri
(Missourinet) – Two new Mizzou scholarships are being offered to out-of-state students.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said one is a $7,500 scholarship for non-residents with an ACT score of 25 or 26, whose parents went to school at MU. The other is a $2,500 award for students from a bordering state.
“This initiative will increase the number of students coming to Missouri for their education,” Cartwright said. “We know that in many cases, they end up staying in the Show-Me State after graduating and contribute to our state’s economy.”
About one-third of Mizzou’s students are from out of state. Non-resident students pay about $15,000 more annually than in-state students do for a full-time class schedule.
“Many of our students make decisions about their education based on financial constraints. This is a problem that has continued to grow,” Cartwright said. “While Mizzou students borrow 25% less than the national average to pay for college, we must continue to move forward on very practical fronts.”
The school, which is experiencing declining enrollment and on-campus housing revenue, has been offering different incentives to entice more students to attend Mizzou. It announced earlier this year scholarships for in-state students that are low-income, or in the honors college. Some dorm room and dining rates will also drop in the fall of 2018.
Health Professionals gather at Missouri Capitol to discuss issues relating to diabetes. Photo courtesy Missourinet.
(Missourinet) – A panel discussion at the Missouri state Capitol Tuesday focused on the heavy impact of diabetes on residents and the state economy.
Nearly 750,000 suffer from the disease and the cost to the state is approaching $5 billion a year.
The event was organized by House Republican Patricia Pike of Adrian, who filed legislation this year to make November Missouri Diabetes Awareness Month. The measure passed the House with unanimous support, but died in the state Senate.
Several health professionals involved with diabetes took part in the discussion.
Stephen Njenga with the Missouri Hospital Association said his organization conducted an analysis of Community Healthcare Needs Assessments that all hospitals are required to complete. The analysis revealed that diabetes topped a list of the three biggest health issues across the state.
Njenga said the Hospital Association formed a study group to examine problems the disease presents.
“We’ve been able to hold several meetings,” said Njenga. “We have a few focus groups, very specifically focusing on key areas, trying to understand what we have, what we don’t have, who we are missing on the table, in this journey of trying to help address the diabetes issues in Missouri.”
Richard Royer heads the healthcare consulting group Primaris. He chaired the panel discussion, noting his group works under a federal contract with Medicare to address a particular need of diabetes patients.
“We have a very specific and targeted goal as part of our current work,” said Royer. “That is to enroll people to self-educate and self-manage the problem, because self-management is a significant part of being able to stay ahead of the game in diabetes.”
Royer said Primaris is largely assisting vulnerable minority groups – African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans – that are twice as likely as Caucasians to be diagnosed with diabetes.
Connie Kleinbeck is a registered nurse and the Inpatient Diabetes Educator for Truman Medical Center in Kansas City. She says one of her biggest hurdles is helping diabetics, who have to closely monitor their blood-sugar levels, find healthy food choices.
“It’s amazing how many people don’t even understand how to cook, using a sugar substitute,” Kleinbeck said. “They think that honey is good to use. They don’t even realize that it’s a sugar.”
Kleinbeck also says finances are an issue for her patients at Truman Medical Center, which, as the leading safety net hospital in Missouri, provides a high level of uncompensated care to low income people.
House Republican Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson joined the panel discussion to offer her thoughts after 40 years working as a dental hygienist. She says she can detect symptoms of diabetes by simply examining patients.
“We see our patients every six months,” said Lichtenegger. “And within that six-month period of time, you might notice that, all of a sudden, the gums are bleeding more, all of a sudden there’s a loose tooth, things like that. Those are indications that something is going on in the body.”
Lichtenegger says she plans to work with the Missouri Dental Hygiene Association to offer diabetes classes at regular meetings of the organization.
Representative Pike, who spearheaded the panel discussion, says the gathering was intended to bring stakeholders in diabetes treatment together.
“Certainly, one of our goals today was to invite different agencies and entities that work with diabetic care together, to network, and to exchange ideas, and just see what is really going on in the state already.”
Pike notes the idea for meeting evolved from a diabetes seminar she hosted with healthcare professionals in her district.
“From that, we brainstormed ideas of what we could do statewide. And that developed into the legislation we carried last year, and in part, today’s event.”
Pike calls it a local conversation that grew statewide. She plans to reintroduce her bill designating November as Diabetes Awareness Month.
An effort that wasn’t showcased during the panel discussion is a project known as Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES). Missouri is involved in the program, which offers patients instruction and assistance in the process of setting goals for nutrition, physical activity, check-ups, glucose monitoring and medication use.
DSMES is funded through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Representative Pike supports the project in its focus on rural and under-served communities in Missouri, as well as the Medicare age population.
