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Category: brief

Brief: MO Senate Poll; Kansas GOP Official resigns; St. Joe Dog Tether

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The McCaskill-Hawley race remains a statistical tie.

The poll by Reuters, Ipsos and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics shows Republican state Attorney General Josh Hawley supported by 45 percent of likely Missouri voters, and incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., supported by 44 percent. That’s well within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

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The poll was taken Sept. 27-Oct. 7, in the midst of an all-out political fight over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. According to the poll, Missourians also are split on that controversy and over which Senate candidate is most helped or hurt by it.

 

Sharice Davids is taking on incumbent Kevin Yoder for the U.S. House of Representatives. The position represents Kansas’ third district.

“Your radical socialist kick boxing lesbian Indian will be sent back packing to the reservation.”

On Sunday night, Michael Kalny, former GOP precinct committeeman of Shawnee, Kansas, made the remarks in a private Facebook message to Anne Pritchett, a chapter president of the Johnson County Democratic Women.

 

Protecting pets:

“Last winter, this is before I was on the council, there was an animal that died during the winter season,” McMurray said. “So this is just to encourage everyone to treat their animals in a humane way and not to just tie them up in the yard all day and not to leave them out in the cold or very hot weather.”

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: KC Scooter Injuries; MO Voter ID Law Ruling; KS Can’t Find Teachers

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Missouri’s voter ID law encounters hurdles.

The law, which took effect in June 2017, allows voters to present documents like utility bills or college IDs. But those voters then had to sign a statement that they “do not possess a form of personal identification approved for voting” — which Callahan called “contradictory and misleading.”

“The affidavit plainly requires the voter to swear that they do not possess a form of personal identification approved for voting while simultaneously presenting to the election authority a form of personal identification that is approved,” Callahan wrote Tuesday. Implying that a photo ID is required to vote, he said, “is an outright misstatement of law.”

 

More drama occurs in the race for U.S. Senator from Missouri.

More recently, Barton compared LGBT rights activists to Nazis on his radio show in 2017 after a trip to Poland.

“The evil that’s there, it still works in the same deceptive means today, it still has that nice smiling face and, you know, a homosexual lifestyle, it’s such a wonderful lifestyle, yeah?” Barton said. “Why don’t you look at the medical stats and see if that’s really true? And so it always disguises itself in different ways, it comes through different means. We see it all the time.”

 

Kansas schools can’t find enough qualified applicants for teacher positions.

There are more than 600 vacant teaching positions in Kansas, nearly 100 more than in the fall of 2017. Special education and elementary positions have the largest number of vacancies.

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“I have calls from superintendents that say, ‘Man, what’s going to happen to me if I don’t get a person in this position?’ ” said Susan Helbert, the assistant director for teacher licensure at the Kansas State Department of Education. “Well, actually nothing is going to happen except I need to know that so we can address those issues.”

 

Scooters injuries take off in Kansas City.

Dr. Aaron Kaus, an emergency room physician at Saint Luke’s Hospital, said the most common injuries involve the face and head. So far, he said, none of the injuries have involved collisions with other vehicles.

“I’ve heard from ones who, more or less, lose control of the scooters when they hit either a pothole or a crack, or transition from the sidewalk to the street,” he said.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: Bus Flooded in KC; More Heavy Rain Incoming; Record Women In MO Races

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Flash flooding caused issues through the Kansas City metro Monday morning.

“I think our bus driver thought it was a puddle,” said Alexis Novello, who was on the bus with her brother. “But she tried to go through and the water went up as if you were driving a normal car, but it was so much water that she got stuck.”

The bus driver called her company and 911. Firefighters arrived and helped the students exit through the back door.

More heavy rain is on the way following heavy rains Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

The race for Governor in Kansas remains tight.

Remington Research Group, a Republican polling and political consulting firm based in Kansas City, has a survey out suggesting the race between Kobach and Kelly is way too close to call. It’s been reported here and elsewhere.

Kelly 42 percent
Kobach 41 percent
Greg Orman, an independent, 10 percent
Jeff Caldwell, the Libertarian in the race, 2 percent
Rick Kloos, another independent 1 percent
Undecided 4 percent

The deadline to vote in Missouri is Wednesday. In Kansas it is Tuesday, October 16. Check your registration here.

For the last two years, the number of women represented in Missouri’s General Assembly has dipped to 23.4 percent, below the national average of 24.9 percent. Currently, women hold 46 of Missouri’s 197 legislative seats.

 

Tobacco restrictions advance in Lawrence, Kansas.

One of the main concerns voiced by commissioners thus far has been the legality of such ordinances and the potential for legal challenges. About 20 Kansas cities have used home rule to raise the age to purchase tobacco to 21, including Kansas City, Lenexa, Overland Park and Topeka.

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Both the Lawrence school district and the Douglas County Commission have voiced support for the Tobacco 21 initiative. In a letter to the commission, School Board President Jessica Beeson said both students and staff have provided the board compelling information about the problem of tobacco use in schools and more specifically e-cigarette use and vaping.

 

Get your flu shot for free.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: MO Minimum Wage Increase; Man-Made Earthquakes Decrease; Automatic Voter Registration

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Missouri’s minimum wage is $7.85 per hour. Will voters raise it to $12?

Proponents of the measure — Proposition B — say minimum wage just isn’t livable, but critics worry raising the minimum wage would burden small companies, forcing them to go out of business or cut back on hours. That, they argue, would hurt the very minimum wage workers who hope to benefit from a raise.

 

Could there be a solution to a side effect of fracking?

Langenbruch said injection limits put into place by state regulators have made a difference. His model predicts that at current injection rates, the number of widely felt earthquakes in Kansas and Oklahoma will decrease to as few as 100 by 2020. That’s down from the thousands of earthquakes felt in the area at its peak in 2015.

“Based on our model we can make scientific decisions about how to optimize injection rates in space in time to mitigate the seismic hazard,” he said.

 

A number of states are looking to implement automatic voter registration.

A federal court judge earlier this year struck down the state’s voter registration requirements, and issued a contempt finding because Kobach failed to comply with her order. Kobach defended the law as necessary to stamp out voter fraud, arguing that the few known examples of illegal voting were just the tip of an iceberg.

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“And I don’t believe he’s done so because he thinks it’s good for the state,” Scalia said. “I think he’s done so because he’s pandering to an anti-Democratic force.”

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: Gas Price Trends; How a Gas Tax Might Save You Money; MO River Flooding

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Gas prices continue an upward trend. Missouri remains amongst the most affordable, yet also amongst the biggest increases nationwide.

The nation’s top 10 least expensive markets are: Mississippi ($2.57), Alabama ($2.57), South Carolina ($2.58), Louisiana ($2.59), Virginia ($2.62), Arkansas ($2.62), Tennessee ($2.63), Texas ($2.63), Missouri ($2.68) and Delaware ($2.69).

The nation’s top 10 largest weekly changes are: Florida (+10 cents), Michigan (+10 cents), California (+8 cents), West Virginia (+7 cents), Missouri (+7 cents), Ohio (-6 cents), Delaware (-6 cents), New Mexico (+6 cents), Iowa (+6 cents) and Nebraska (+5 cents).

 

A ten-cent gas tax increase might help maintain your vehicle.

Rough and congested roads and bridges that lack some safety features are costing Kansas City drivers nearly $2,000 a year, according to a report released Wednesday by a Washington-based transportation research group.

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The report, released by the research group TRIP at a news conference at Union Station, found that Missouri’s deteriorating and congested roads and bridges cost motorists a total of $7.8 billion annually.

 

GOP Representative Kevin Yoder faces trouble in Kansas’ third district. Hillary Clinton garnered more votes than President Donald Trump in the district.

 

If she becomes Governor, how would Laura Kelly address the financial situation in Kansas?

“It’s not something we can do overnight,” Kelly said. “It will take years.”

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Kelly’s campaign is built around the premise that former Gov. Sam Brownback’s supply-side tax policy obliterated government services that now need to be restored. Kobach supports the Brownback tax policy, saying it failed because declining revenues weren’t offset by more severe cuts to government spending.

Speaking of spending in Kansas:

“You can’t talk about access to health care without addressing the issue of cost,” Davis said. “Right now, Washington, D.C., is playing politics with your health care day in and day out.”

Watkins, who has a father and wife who work as physicians, said the problem was rooted in the imposition of Obamacare and an obsession among liberal politicians to impose unnecessary regulations on doctors. He said the remedy to the flawed health care system was to let capitalism take over.

 

A flood warning continues for the region, and may get worse.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: MO Gas Tax; Medicaid Expansion, Drunk Pull Ups on a Plane

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Will gas prices go up in Missouri?

Missouri has one of the country’s largest networks of roads and bridges, but when it comes to funding it, the state ranks 46 out of 50, according to 2015 federal highway statistics. Lawmakers have attempted but failed to raise the state’s gas tax, which pays for some repairs. So it’s now in the hands of Missouri voters, who on Nov. 6 will decide whether to approve a measure that would raise the tax for the first time in 22 years.

 

A report released last week by the Government Accountability Office found that the pace of rural hospital closures doubled in 2013-2017 compared to the previous five years, with 64 shutting their doors.

In about a month, Kansas voters will head to the polls in an election for governor that could easily determine whether the state expands Medicaid or not.

“It is even more devastating to know this is likely a preventable disaster,” Holman said. “If Kansas lawmakers had passed legislation to expand KanCare, as it has been debating for the past four years, resources would have been available to help keep this hospital open.”

She said more than 30 rural Kansas hospitals were considered financially vulnerable and at risk of closure. Rural hospitals in non-expansion states are six times more likely to close than in expansion states, she said.

 

Missouri’s deadline is October 10. In Kansas, it is October 16.

 

Drunken pull ups forced a flight to land at KCI.

“He was leaning up against where you put the bags overhead and a passenger came by and said ‘What are you going to do, some pull ups?’ and the guy actually grabbed on to it and started doing some pull ups on the plane in front of everybody,” one passenger told WBZ-TV.

The man then reportedly ordered more beer and alcohol while continuing to do pull-ups. Flight attendants eventually asked him “three or four times” to sit down.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: Kander Withdraws; Dead Heat for KS Gov; Deer Season on the Highway

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Jason Kander ends his campaign for mayor of Kansas City. He was the frontrunner.

I’m done hiding this from myself and from the world. When I wrote in my book that I was lucky to not have PTSD, I was just trying to convince myself. And I wasn’t sharing the full picture. I still have nightmares. I am depressed.

Instead of dealing with these issues, I’ve always tried to find a way around them. Most recently, I thought that if I could come home and work for the city I love so much as its mayor, I could finally solve my problems. I thought if I focused exclusively on service to my neighbors in my hometown, that I could fill the hole inside of me. But it’s just getting worse.

So after 11 years of trying to outrun depression and PTSD symptoms, I have finally concluded that it’s faster than me. That I have to stop running, turn around, and confront it.

 

A dead heat in the race for Kansas Governor:

The poll found that 18 percent of Republicans are backing Kelly, who has touted endorsements from Republicans such as former Gov. Bill Graves.

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For Kobach’s part, 8 percent of Democrats are backing him, according to the poll. He has announced no similar Democratic endorsements but has gained the endorsement of a firefighters union.

 

A new alert is set to hit your phone Wednesday.

 

Fire danger Wednesday:

 

It’s deer season…on the highway.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: MO-KS Campaign Cash Disparity; NAFTA; Travel Costs Up in KS

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Senator Claire McCaskill has a $17-million lead over her Republican challenger.

McCaskill brought in $22,785,442, as of the July 18 report to the Federal Election Committee, or FEC. In contrast, Hawley had raised $5,320,513.

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“Money is critical to any race, and it’s incredibly important to this particular race, because McCaskill is facing more hurdles than other Senate candidates. She’s contesting a state that (President) Donald Trump won by a huge margin, and she’s facing an electorate that’s increasingly Republican.”

On the Kansas side, campaign cash takes a hit in a key race.

The last poll was from the New York Times which has Democrat Sharice Davids up eight points on the incumbent.

Yoder’s campaign isn’t ready to concede that the NRCC is abandoning the race.

“Chairman (Steve) Stivers reiterated the NRCC’s commitment to helping Kevin directly to him last week,” campaign spokesperson C.J. Grover said it a text. “The committee remains engaged in our race and is sending coordinated TV dollars this week.”

 

I-70 in Missouri remains toll-free, as rates in Kansas jump.

Electronic passenger vehicles (2-4 axles using a K-TAG or compatible device) will see an approximate 5% increase and realize a savings of up to 25% off cash tolls.

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The less than 40% of cash customers will see an approximate 12.5% increase (passenger) and 10% increase (commercial). All cash fares will be adjusted to the nearest quarter, which could cause variances in the percentage increase.

 

The United States pitches a new trade deal.

 

Unseasonable temps return this week.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: McCaskill “No” on Kavanaugh; 100-loss Royals; Record-Heat Wednesday?

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Senator Claire McCaskill makes a decision on the Supreme Court nominee.

“…decision is not based on those allegations but rather on his positions on several key issues, most importantly the avalanche of dark, anonymous money that is crushing our democracy,” McCaskill wrote.

“He has revealed his bias against limits on campaign donations which places him completely out of the mainstream of this nation,” she wrote, adding that she was “also uncomfortable about his view on Presidential power as it relates to the rule of law, and his position that corporations are people.”

 

Some confusion about a West Nile Virus case:

Twelve cases of West Nile illness have been reported so far this year in Missouri. Ten occurred in St. Louis City or St. Louis County, one was in Jackson County and one was in Boone County.

The person who died in Jackson County contracted the illness in August.

 

St. Joe had near-record heat Wednesday. From the National Weather Service last night:

Friday’s forecast high is 69. 70’s and sunny this weekend.

 

The Kansas City Royals have lost at least 100 games in a season five times now.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brief: KC VA Problems; KS Gov Race Endorsements; High on Hemp Cash?

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Veterans care continues to be a challenge, and the Kansas City VA is the latest example.

Republican U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri and Kevin Yoder of Kansas, as well as Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, met with the VA on Tuesday to discuss the issues outlined in their July letter and check on what progress has been made.

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“Too many times they called and it would ring and ring, and they couldn’t reach a real person, or they would be put through to voicemail,” Hartzler said. “That’s just not acceptable when you are calling for help.”

 

Talk heats up after numerous Republicans endorse the Democratic nominee for Governor, Laura Kelly.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce says it might endorse a candidate for Governor, but no decision at this point.

The chamber has advocated for immigration reform for years. But Congress has stalled on the issue amid President Donald Trump’s insistence on building a border wall with Mexico and aggressive enforcement of immigration law that for a time resulted in undocumented immigrants being separated from their children.

Kobach supports Trump’s effort to build a wall and agrees that Mexico can be forced to pay for its construction. He also supports ending in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants and opposes a federal program that allows undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children to remain.

 

According to the Department of Agriculture, the Kansas program will be somewhat more expansive than the one in neighboring Nebraska, which limits licenses to growers who are affiliated with its state Department of Agriculture or its higher education institutions.

Missouri, the agency noted, allows no more than two nonprofit entities to grow and process industrial hemp or hemp extracts. Oklahoma’s program only allows postsecondary institutions to grow industrial hemp for research purposes or subcontract with individuals to do so.

But the Kansas program will be significantly more restrictive than the industrial hemp program in Colorado, which also has legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana.

 

The Brief is a daily roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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