Nancy Hughes: The fallen branches

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

Romans 8:5 (NIV

The “ice storm of all time” hit our part of the state where I live a few years ago. Schools were closed, electricity was out for about a week, and everyone scrambled to find ways to heat their homes. Had it not been for so many problems due to the storm, the sheer beauty of ice on the trees would have been breathtaking.

Instead, people found themselves with damage to their yards and trees because of the ice snapping one massive limb after another and forcing each one to plummet toward the ground, leaving deep scars from the impact of the fall. I was not exempt from that damage in my yard.

I had an enormous oak tree on the south side of my home that was my best friend in the summer because of the shade it provided. The branches were huge, the tree majestic. But as I began the process of cleaning up my yard after the storm, I discovered that a very large dead limb at the top of this tree had given in to the weight of the ice and had crashed to the ground, taking with it three healthy limbs.

As I looked at the damage, my mind switched to the “dead limbs” that we all have in our lives. Maybe it’s gossip or jealousy or an anger issue or always having to be right. Whatever they might be, the dead limbs in our lives can do unbelievable damage to our family, our friends, and even to people around us that we might not know well. But they do something else, too. They also damage our relationship with God.

We are very foolish if we think that our wrong choices will have no consequences and that people will not be hurt or relationships ruined. “Yes, I am having an affair,” my friend told me, “but it only affects the two of us. Nobody will get hurt.” My heart broke in pieces. Nobody hurt? What about your husband and children and his wife and the fact that you have destroyed their trust by your actions? One dead branch – an affair – fell, and it took with it several once-healthy branches of spouses and children and trust.

A young man that I had encouraged to take a different path and stop using drugs took me by the arms and said “Listen, I know you care about me. I get it. But just leave me alone and let me do my drugs. Nobody is getting hurt. I’m fine. It’s my life.” And with each police report in the paper with his name in bold type, his family and friends who love him become casualties from the dead branch of drugs.

Our gift from the Lord – the ability to communicate with Him – is broken when we engage in behavior that does not glorify Him or reflect His will for our lives. David knew that. He wrote in Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened . . .” David had found out the hard way that cherishing (taking pleasure in) behavior outside of the will of God results in heartache, a broken relationship with God and consequences. As the dead branch fell – lusting after Bathsheba, a married woman – it ultimately resulted in the death of his son. A healthy branch, a son, taken down by a father’s dead branch choice.

I encourage you this very moment to examine your life for any dead branches that are hiding in your life, threatening to come crashing down and taking healthy branches with them. Any focus outside of the will of God in your life will affect those around you and they will be hurt, or in some cases, even destroyed. And your relationship with God will be hurt as well. When you identify the dead limbs, repent, give them to the Lord and ask Him to help you cut them off as quickly as possible. Then kneel before Him as He removes each branch and pulls you back into His presence.

Lord, forgive me for allowing sin in my life and for thinking that I can do whatever I want without hurting those I love. Please give me strength and courage as I cut off any branches in my life that do not glorify and honor you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

What branches do you have in your life that you have been trying to hide from the Lord?

Think through each branch. What could be the result of holding on to these branches? Loved ones hurt? Relationships destroyed? Is the branch worth the pain it may cause?

Apply

Dig into the Word and ask the Lord to show you those branches in your life that do not glorify Him.

Make a list with the name of each branch and offer them all up to the Lord. Burn the paper as your offering to Him and your desire to reconnect with Him and His will for your life.

Power

Romans 8:5 (NIV) “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

I Corinthians 10:31(NIV) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Psalm 66:18 (NIV) “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened . . . “

 (For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)

Rev. Brian Kaylor: Eric Schmitt fails the moral test when he sues school districts for mask mandates

 

(The following opinion column was published in the Missouri Independent)

By Rev. Brian Kaylor

On Friday, I had to work from home because my son’s school district canceled classes due to a COVID-related staff shortage. While working between interruptions from him, I saw the news that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued our school district — and nearly three dozen others — for having the audacity to reimplement a mask requirement.

This left me wondering: Will he sue these districts for their other dress code requirements that impinge on student freedom?

My son is also required to wear a shirt to school. Ditto shoes. There’s even a pants mandate. Will our attorney general fight for the right of students to dress how they want? Who is this unelected P.E. coach to say kids need shoes while running laps outside? Isn’t it their God-given right to just show up dressed the way God created them?

Pulling up the district’s policy also reminded me the school bans “apparel displaying sexually explicit, vulgar, violent, or advocating illegal activities.” Where, Schmitt, is your lawsuit challenging that? Free speech is under attack right here in our local public schools. Student voices are being canceled. Is this Communist China now?

The district’s policy adds, “Apparel or grooming which presents a safety concern is not permitted.” So, apparently masks aren’t the first time we’ve created rules to keep kids safe. 

Schmitt wants the decision about whether other children show up spewing COVID-19 germs all over the hallway to “rest solely with parents and families.” But if we’re going to challenge masks, why not sue for all safety-related school rules? What about my right as a parent to dress my child in a spiked collar?

Let’s be honest and stop pretending Schmitt cares about enforcing the law and protecting individual rights. This is crass politics from the attorney general’s office designed to boost his poll numbers in this year’s Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. While Eric Greitens talks about conspiracy theories, Schmitt’s position allows him to actually participate in one. What does it say about his character that he is so willing to sacrifice the health and well-being of our children, teachers and school staff to advance his political career?

To suggest districts can’t dictate how students dress (whether requiring pants or masks) is to ignore not only the science about masking and the reality of the pandemic but also the fact that schools — and businesses and even the AG’s office — already have lots of dress code rules.

And, I would humbly suggest, the public health threat posed by a “no pants policy” isn’t nearly as dangerous to others right now as Schmitt’s desire that COVID-infected people not wear masks in public places.

Across our communities people have sacrificed to keep people healthy throughout this pandemic. Overworked and under appreciated nurses and doctors have been asked to save lives through wave after wave of cases. As hospitals fill up across Missouri and stress levels rise yet again, they are pleading that we do our part to keep our medical system from breaking apart.

School administrators and teachers are working to keep schools open and children protected, which parents want and students need. So, it’s disheartening when a politician decides to work against our communities and the common good.

In the world dictated by Eric Schmitt, our hospitals fill up and our schools close down.

If he gets what he wants, we’ll see more staff and children sickened and more canceled days of schools. We may never know the full impact on the health of our communities for which he’ll be morally responsible. Schmitt claims on his Senate website that he’s “a staunch defender of life,” but his COVID-denying politics unmask that as a lie.

And it’s worse than that. He’s funding this deadly crusade against public schools with taxpayer money.

Quality education involves teaching our children about math, history, science, the arts and more. But it also involves lessons about character, responsibility, the common good and — this should be obvious — common sense.

Eric Schmitt is failing that moral test. But it’s our children who are paying the consequences of his cynicism and ignorance.

The Rev. Brian Kaylor is president of Word&Way and writes about faith, culture and politics. Founded in 1896, Word&Way is Missouri-based Christian news publication with a magazine, website, and podcasts.

Kansas unemployment rate dips to 3.3 percent, returns to pre-COVID levels

By Tim Carpenter

Kansas Reflector

The Kansas unemployment rate fell for a third consecutive month to 3.3% in December and reach the 3.1% to 3.3% range that prevailed from early 2018 until start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Joblessness in Kansas surged to 12.6% in April 2020 when the economy shuddered under threat of a virus that has eventually infected one-fourth of the state’s population, hospitalized in excess of 17,000 people and became a factor in the death of 7,319 individuals in the state.

The rate of unemployment in Kansas fell to 4.7% in December 2020 and 3.8% by July 2021 before dipping to 3.3% last month. Approximately 1.45 million Kansans held down December, the state officials said. In November, Kansas’ rate was 3.6%.

Aside from the initial nine months of the pandemic, the unemployment rate in the state hasn’t surpassed 4% since 2016.

“Kansas ended the year with sustained progress towards economic recovery,” said Amber Shultz, secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor. “Estimates indicate that employers continued to add jobs in December and the unemployment rate declined.”

The monthly reporting on employment relies on collaboration between the state Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Their latest assessment indicated the seasonally adjusted total of Kansas nonfarm jobs expanded by 800 from November to December. The number of private-sector jobs climbed by 2,000, while government employment dropped by 1,200.

“Kansas nonfarm jobs increased for the seventh consecutive month as gains in the private sector offset a decline in government jobs in December,” said Emilie Doerksen, an economist at the state Department of Labor. “Although the rate of growth has slowed, December estimates indicate continued expansion for trade, transportation and utilities as well as continued recovery in manufacturing.”

From December 2020 to December 2021, Kansas added 38,600 nonfarm jobs. The majority — 36,500 — were in the private sector. Only 2,100 were government jobs.

Since March 2020, the state Department of Labor has paid out 5.2 million weekly claims totaling $3.3 billion between regular unemployment and the federal pandemic programs.

Foundation for Economic Education offers appreciation of Ethelmae Humphreys

(From the Foundation for Economic Education)

By Lawrence W. Reed

We at FEE are mourning the December 27, 2021, passing of a gracious and extraordinary lady. She embodied the best of the American spirit—a creator of wealth and a manager of business who was devoted to her God, family and country. She generously supported FEE for decades as a donor, trustee and advisor.

Her name was Ethelmae Humphreys of Joplin, Missouri. I knew her for nearly 40 years and came to call her “my Missouri Mom,” or “MO Mom” for short. She died a fortnight short of her 95th birthday.

The Humphreys family and FEE have been philosophically joined at the hip for well more than half a century. Leonard Read, our Founder, sure knew how to find quality people who shared his passion for freedom and free markets! Ethelmae’s late husband Jay served nine years on the FEE board of trustees in the 1970s and ‘80s; Ethelmae herself graced our board for more than a dozen years. Their son David and daughter Sarah also served as trustees. Indeed, the FEE board without a Humphreys on it would seem like a Thanksgiving dinner without the cranberries—or even the turkey, for that matter.

It is a supreme honor to carry the title of Humphreys Family Senior Fellow at FEE since my retirement to the president emeritus role in May 2019. It’s also a daily reminder to live and teach by the same lofty integrity for which Ethelmae and the Humphreys family are widely known and respected. My appreciation for their personal support over the decades is boundless.

In 1944, Ethelmae’s parents founded a roofing company in Joplin and named it TAMKO. Each letter in the name derived from a state in which they hoped to sell the shingles they made—Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Nearly eight decades later, the company markets its products just about everywhere. For almost all of that rich history, Ethelmae played a key role in growing, guiding and inspiring the firm and its employees. On TAMKO’s 75th anniversary in 2019, she said:

Over time, we’ve seen great business growth and we’ve built upon our character without sacrificing who we are. It’s special for me to think about TAMKO—a company initiated by my father, named by my mother and run by my husband and children. However, we never would have made it without our people. For 75 years, TAMKO expected hard work, honesty and integrity from its employees, and just as my father did from day one, our employees have demonstrated a work ethic and level of dedication that no one ever had to ask for.

Quoting from a statement released by the company, The Joplin Globe noted that she “was considered the matriarch of the roofing industry. She succeeded in a predominantly male industry, confidently leading a major corporation as a 20-something woman in 1950s America, setting an example for women in the manufacturing and roofing industries.” You can read the full story here.

About 20 years ago, MO Mom gave me a personal tour—hardhats and all—of the Joplin plant. She knew her business in fine detail and was proud of its high standards. Not many mothers in this world could tell you how to make a great shingle or why free enterprise is the system that makes it possible, but Ethelmae Humphreys sure could!

When Leonard Read met someone whose principles were steadfast—who wouldn’t desert them come hell or high water—he would proudly pronounce, “He doesn’t leak!” He would say the same of Ethelmae. Her shingles didn’t leak and neither did she. In addition to FEE, many fine, freedom-loving organizations earned her support over the years. She was as good a friend as freedom ever had.

Still reeling from the shock of her sudden passing, I searched my mind (and the internet too) for some appropriate words. I stumbled upon a short poem authored by someone named “Anonymous.” I immediately thought, “I can hear those words coming straight from Ethelmae herself.” In tribute to her, I offer that poem here—including five additional verses I composed myself:

Don’t Grieve for Me, for Now I’m Free

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard Him call;
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way;
I found my new place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh or kiss;
Ah yes, these things I too shall miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savored much;
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch—and so much more.

Don’t forget the shingles,
And not the ones the doctors treat!
I mean the ones we made in Joplin
To keep out the cold and in the heat.

The roofs of Heaven await my inspection
They’d better say “TAMKO”
To earn my affection.

Perhaps my time seems all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Two weeks shy of 95 is pretty darn good
So I’m not complaining, even if I could.

One final note on that precious word, “free”:
You know it always meant a lot to me.
Life without freedom is hardly worth living,
Which is why, to it, I never stopped giving.

The gifts we give can mean so much,
Especially when our hearts and minds they touch.
But a gift that leaves the greatest legacy
Is the one that says to all, “Maintain the character that will keep you free.”

Ethelmae Humphreys—faithful, kind, generous, adventurous, unforgettable, a MO Mom of boundless character—Rest in Peace.

(This article was originally published on fee.org)

Jason Smith: I am fighting for working class families and against President Biden's agenda

(By Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

One year. This week marked Joe Biden’s first anniversary in the White House. And no matter how rosy of a picture he tries to paint about the state of our nation; no matter how many times he tries to shift blame to Republicans despite his party having unified control of the House, Senate, and White House; no matter how many times he exaggerates or lies about the effects of his agenda; there is one clear, consistent truth - working-class Americans are suffering as a direct result of the path Joe Biden has led us down.

This week, as the Republican Leader of the Budget Committee, I participated in a roundtable to discuss the state of our economy. It’s not a pretty picture. 

Consumer inflation was 7 percent over the last year, the highest it’s been in 40 years since 1982. The producer price index – which tracks the change in selling prices for domestic producers – had the highest recorded increase ever at 9.7 percent. 

Inflation isn’t just a statistic for working families. It means it’s harder to put food on the table, gas in their cars, and medicine in their cabinets. Fighting to keep inflation low should be a top priority for every elected official, but economists agree that the agenda President Biden is pursuing would make inflation worse, not better.

The President promised that by passing his $2 Trillion COVID package we would jumpstart economic growth, with his favorite economists at Moody’s predicting 9 percent economic growth in the 3rd quarter of this year. Economic growth sputtered to around 2 percent. The president promised strong job creation, with millions of new jobs created. Instead, we’ve created 1.1 million fewer jobs than he promised, and the economy has not added a single job from the record high we saw under President Trump in 2019.

To show what Missouri families are facing, I had Russ Gant, a small business owner in West Plains join me for the roundtable discussion on the economy and share how Biden’s agenda has been affecting him and his business. Russ told a room full of elected officials from across the country how the Biden supply chain crisis is making it hard to remain competitive because it takes so long to get goods from our ports of entry. People are seeing the impact of the supply chain crisis when they go to the grocery store and see bare shelves. But it’s more than just groceries – it’s everywhere you look.

Russ also highlighted how workers are vanishing in Biden’s America. He’s had trouble hiring the people he needs to keep his businesses operating, and it’s not hard to understand why. Workers were being paid by the government to stay home, whether it was the removal of work requirements from the child tax credit or the expanded unemployment benefits, workers found it more beneficial to sit on the sidelines than show up to a job.

Finally, Russ highlighted how he hasn’t seen any assistance from policies passed by Joe Biden, but instead the only real help he has seen was from legislation Congress passed under President Trump. His observation underscored to me why government needs to focus on helping the people that need help the most, rather than simply writing bills to reward their political friends and political allies.

And yet, Joe Biden spent the week trying to convince his political allies in Washington to rebrand his inflation-busting Build Back Better tax-and-spending bill. How much more out of touch can someone be? Missourians and frankly all Americans have rejected this bill. Simply put, they don’t want the liberal, Washington Democrat, bureaucratic command-and-control agenda that they’ve been trying to shove down our throats for the past year. They want a job. They want to provide for their families. They want to be able to afford basic necessities. And I am fighting for working-class families and against the president’s agenda because it makes all of those things harder.

Missouri attorney general sues nine more school districts over mask mandates

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Monday he was suing nine more school districts over their mask mandates, including a school district in St. Louis County that serves students with disabilities.

The additional lawsuits bring the total filed in recent days to 45, as Schmitt continues his legal push to end mask mandates across the state.

The nine districts facing litigation Monday are primarily located throughout the St. Louis metro, and include the districts of Bayless, Jennings, Lexington, Kirkwood, Ritenour, Hancock Place, Meramec Valley, University City and the Special School District of St. Louis County, which is the largest district in the state that serves students with special needs.

Chris Nuelle, a spokesman for Schmitt, said the nine districts were sued Monday because “there simply wasn’t enough time in the day on Friday to file all of these lawsuits.”

“We filed lawsuits against school districts that we identified as having a mask mandate,” Nuelle said, “and if we learn of others we will consider further legal action.”

The lawsuits allege that, “school districts do not have the authority to impose, at their whim, public health orders for their schoolchildren,” and that state lawmakers did not grant schools the authority to hinge in-person attendance on wearing a mask.

However, school districts that previously faced cease-and-desist letters from Schmitt have pointed to a variety of state statutes that allow school boards to issue regulations and more explicitly give schools the authority to remove students from the classroom who may transmit a contagious disease.

The Francis Howell School District in St. Charles County, which was sued by Schmitt last week, issued a statement Friday defending its authority to issue mask requirements and arguing locally elected school board members are tasked with making decision for the district’s students — not the attorney general.

“The lawsuit filed by Schmitt is a waste of taxpayer money — on both sides,” the statement read. “The claims are tenuous at best and this unnecessary lawsuit represents another attack on public education in Missouri. This latest action by AG Schmitt is disheartening, unfounded and frankly, shameful.”

Lawsuits previously filed by Schmitt targeting mask mandates have cost local governments hundreds of thousands of dollars, St. Louis Public Radio previously reported.

Schmitt had previously sued Columbia Public Schools over its masking requirements, and attempted to have the case apply to all districts with mask mandates. A judge denied that request, and the case was dismissed when Columbia allowed its mask mandate to expire.

Schmitt sued Columbia again last week after it reinstated its mask requirement.

Schmitt’s lawsuits come at a time when over 60 school districts have closed for one or more days this month in an effort to curb COVID-19 cases in the classroom, The Kansas City Star reported. Districts have also been pressured to drop mitigation measures in order to receive the state Treasurer’s approval for pending bond deals.

Meanwhile, hospitals continue to grapple with record COVID cases. A 40-member unit from the U.S. Navy is heading to North St. Louis County to assist BJC-Christian Hospital, and nurses who don’t usually care for patients are being required to take on hospital shifts at MU Health Care.

As Missouri looks to legalize recreational marijuana, expungement receives renewed attention

By Rebecca Rivas

Missouri Independent

The push to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri is coming from multiple directions, with a handful of proposed initiative petitions and at least one bill, and potentially more, backed by Republican lawmakers.

Each hopes to place the issue on the 2022 ballot for voter approval.

And each proposal also includes a provision that, while often overlooked in the marijuana debate, is considered a transformative piece of the legalization puzzle — the expungement of nonviolent marijuana offenses from criminal records.

 

The proposals differ on how they handle expungement.

Some propose an “automatic” system that would have the courts identify the old offenses and seal them on people’s records. Others would require people to submit a petition and pay a fee.

How to go about expungement remains up for debate. But the necessity of its inclusion appears a settled matter.

“Every conversation should start with criminal expungement and how the war on drugs has been part of the extension of systemic racism,” said Brennan England, state director of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, an advocacy group for minority businesses.

Kansas City Democrat offers update on budget, redistricting

By Rep. Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City)

Even though it was a short week due to the MLK Holiday, on Tuesday, 1/19, the House voted to advance congressional redistricting legislation to the Senate. 

Although several amendments were offered, none were accepted by the body, but they certainly allowed for spirited debate – some of which will most likely be featured in campaign ads once they start to heat up. 

The map that advanced was the map proposed by the Chair of the House Redistricting Committee, and maintained the status quo, 6 Republican/2 Democratic safe US Congressional Districts. Democrats unanimously opposed the bill because it doesn’t accurately reflect the 40 % Democratic turnout in the last Federal Election and because some communities of interest were not preserved, but rather divided into separate districts. 

It also missed the mark on strengthening our one and only Voting Rights Act district protecting minority communities from being divided to essentially cancel their vote as a voting bloc. 

By contrast, the Republican dissenters wanted a more aggressive gerrymander that would result in a 7-1 split favoring the GOP, even though an amendment to impose such a gerrymander was crushed on a vote of 23-120. 

Once all the shouting was done, however, the bill passed out of the House 86-67. As HB 2117 advances to the Senate, I expect there to be more fireworks, and I expect it will come back to the House with some changes. 

One of the changes has to do with timing. 

Filing for the Primary Election for Congressional Seats opens on February 22 and runs through March. For the November Election, the window is July 12 through August 2. However, all bills passed during a regular session, as we are currently in, don’t take effect until August 28, and you can’t run for office in a district that doesn’t exist. This really poses a very curious dilemma for lawmakers and politicos and as of yet, there has been no resoundingly approved solution.

If you’re planning on listening in to the Senate Redistricting Hearing, be on notice that it has been rescheduled for Tuesday, 1/25, at 12pm in SCR1.

Commission finalizes new districts for Missouri House

On Wednesday, 1/19, the independent commission charged with drawing new state House of Representatives districts finalized their redistricting plan for the House of Representatives seats. These are the district lines that will be used for the next decade. 

The unanimous agreement marks the first redistricting cycle since 1991 that the commission, which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, has avoided partisan deadlock to successfully redraw Missouri’s 163 House districts. The new district lines have produced some hopeful outcomes for the Missouri Democratic Party. 

For instance, we move from 49 to 57 districts that voted for Biden; 47 to 53 that voted for Galloway; 50 to 60 McCaskill districts, 11 to 16 majority Black districts; and a new Hispanic/Latino influence district.

The district I serve, District 19, will become the new Latinx district by removing the portions beyond KC city limits on the east and pushing the lines south to take in the 13th Ward, and by sweeping through City Market and part of the Crossroads District to connect Northeast to the West Side. 

District 19 has the potential to enjoy an influence it has not seen before. This is an exciting opportunity for both the Historic Northeast and the West Side as we build a social corridor through the city. Legislative districts must be redrawn every decade to reflect population shifts under the most recent U.S. Census. The new House redistricting plan will be used starting with this year’s elections and ending with the 2030 elections.

When it comes to the Senate Districts, it looks like things didn’t go as smoothly. After the Senate commission reached an impasse in December, the job of redistricting the 34-member chamber passes to another commission of six appellate judges. The Missouri Supreme Court is expected to appoint the appellate commission no later than Jan. 23.

Governor proposes $46.72 billion state operating budget

Also on Wednesday, Governor Parson released his proposed budget for FY 2023 and gave highlights during his State of the State Address in a Joint Session of the House and Senate. With Missouri flush with unprecedented general revenue surpluses and federal relief funds, Governor Parson proposed a $46.72 billion state operating budget that includes an increase in total spending by more than one-third over the $34.96 billion lawmakers so far have authorized by FY 2022, which ends June 30.

Although general revenue spending would increase by a robust $1.63 billion under the governor’s plan, the bulk of the additional revenue – $9.23 billion – comes from federal funds. 

Parson, a Republican, outlined his proposed budget, along with his policy priorities for the 2022 legislative session, during the annual State of the State address before a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly. 

Parson’s budget commits to fully funding the state Medicaid program both for the remainder of FY 2022 and all of FY 2023, which begins July 1. 

A constitutionally mandated expansion of Medicaid eligibility took effect last summer, but the majority Republicans refused to provide full funding in a failed attempt to block it. The Missouri Supreme Court later ruled the state must enroll and provide services to the expanded population, but the program risks running out of funding if lawmakers don’t pass a supplemental appropriation.

On education, Parson is requesting $600 million in additional funding for operational expenses and capital improvements at public four-year colleges and universities. 

As for K-12 schools, Parson claims his budget “fully funds” public education. However, that is true only for basic state aid to local school districts, with state funding for student transportation remaining about $182 million below what state law says it should be. 

The governor’s other budget priorities include $400 million for rural broadband expansion, $250 million for community development grants and $722 million for childcare programs. Rest assured, my Democratic colleagues and I will be digging into the budget specifics as we get back in the trenches this week, and there will be much more to report.

Parson spent much of the early part of his speech praising his administration’s largely hands-off approach to combatting the spread of COVID-19 and repeatedly referred to the pandemic in the past tense as if it is over. 

In reality, Missouri has set records for new cases and hospitalizations on a near-daily basis. 

On Jan. 12, Missouri broke its record for most cases in a single month in the two years since the pandemic began, even though the month wasn’t even half over at that point. Then, on Friday, 1/21, Governor Parson announced a specialized medical team of U.S. military personnel, which includes doctors and nurses, is being deployed to the St. Louis region to support hospital staff strained by COVID-19 and is expected to be in place at BJC Christian Hospital next week. 

In terms of the fully vaccinated, Missouri ranks fifth-worst in the nation for the 65-plus age group, with 83 percent deemed fully vaccinated. Only 54 percent of Missourians 18 or older are fully vaccinated for 11th worst nationally, according to tracking data maintained by The New York Times.

More Budget Woes

Right out of the gate this year, we took up an Emergency Supplemental Budget Bill containing appropriations to allow for a raise for State workers to take effect February 1. The reason for this urgency was to stem the exodus of workers from all of our state departments and to create a path for extra pay increases (that were related to COVID relief efforts and set to end in January paychecks) to continue uninterrupted. 

These raises are also reflected to be continued in the Governor’s proposed FY 23 budget which begins July 1. 

Another urgent matter in this supplemental request is to fund the Medicaid expansion population that the court ruled must be allowed to enroll and receive services despite the Republicans’ attempt to defund the constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2020. 

Finally, a third urgent matter was the legislative approval of an appropriation of federal funds to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to reimburse local school districts and charter schools for their COVID response expenses such as meals, electronic learning resources, cleaning and sanitizing expenses, etc. 

This appropriation must be approved by the end of February, or it goes back to the Feds. 

As we wait for it to come back to the committee for a vote, our Budget Chair, Rep Smith of Carthage, has filed HJR 117, a ballot initiative that would essentially make Medicaid eligibility dependent upon whether or not the legislature appropriates money for that population by specifically naming them in the appropriation. It specifies that if they are not named, they don’t get MO HealthNet services.

Furthermore, it would end the practice of Missouri Medicaid funds being used to support Medicaid-eligible individuals from other states who are admitted to an emergency center in Missouri because it is the closest to their location. That bill received a hearing on Thursday, 1/19. It’s unclear if that bill will be voted on before the Supplemental. Neither has been noticed up for a vote to get them out of committee and on the House calendar for debate.

Joplin man held on child pornography charges following search warrant execution at South Murphy Lane residence

A Joplin man made his initial appearance this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield on charges of receiving and distributing child pornography.

Dakotah James "Cody" Gilmore, 31, was arrested following the execution of a search warrant Friday at a home in the 1500 block of South Murphy Lane. A Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force investigation had traced child pornography, much of it involving children who appeared to be age five or younger to accounts belonging to Gilmore.

During an interview with investigators, Gilmore admitted he had been viewing and distributing child pornography for two years and was a member of 50 child pornography groups, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Gilmore "admitted to having a sexual interest in children."

Gilmore's preliminary hearing and detention hearing are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Springfield.

167 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Joplin Friday

 The Joplin Health Department confirmed 167 new cases of COVID-19 Friday.

The cases bring the total to 11,518, including 545 active cases.

The city has recorded 190 deaths due to COVID-19.