Globe examines upcoming MSSU Faculty Senate vote on Speck

The Missouri Southern State University Faculty Senate will take a no-confidence vote in President Bruce Speck when it meetts Monday. The upcoming vote is explored in a story in today's Joplin Globe.

Kinder: Tour of Missouri was a success

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder says his pride and joy, The Tour of Missouri, had an even greater economic impact on the state than it did last year or the previous year. The following news release was issued:

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, chairman of the Missouri Tourism Commission and Tour of Missouri, Inc., presented economic impact results from the 2009 Tour of Missouri during a meeting of the Missouri Tourism Commission today in Branson.

"The 2009 Tour of Missouri was met with tremendous support all across our state and I am proud to report that the numbers prove the same,” said Lt. Governor Kinder. “Over 4,000 volunteers worked tirelessly to showcase Missouri across the globe as a world-class tourist destination. We were blessed with great weather through the entire week and, even though we visited smaller towns on this year’s revised route, spectators from all across the world helped us surpass last year’s success to once again make the Tour of Missouri the largest sporting event ever held in our state.”

Throughout the week, 500,000 spectators were estimated to have watched the race at one of the 11 host cities or somewhere along the 600 mile route which passed through many communities in Missouri. In 2008, an estimated 434,000 spectators saw the Tour at some time during the seven stages. In 2007, there were nearly 368,000 spectators who watched the race.

The total economic impact by spectators during the seven-day event was $38.1 million, that’s up from $29.8 million in 2008 and $26.2 million in 2007.

“This year’s race was a huge success thanks to the tremendous efforts of each of our host cities, corporate sponsors, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of Transportation and spectators from across the world,” Lt. Governor Kinder said. “I am very pleased that for the state’s investment of $1.5 million in the Tour of Missouri, we were able to return over $38 million to communities in our state.”

During the course of the seven day event, the average out-of-state visitor spent over $220 per day during their visit. In planning their trip, 83% of non-Missourians said the Tour of Missouri was the reason they came to spend time in Missouri. The average out-of-state visitor spent more than four days in the Show-Me State.

The Tour of Missouri also showcases Missouri to a global audience via live coverage on the Internet and on television.

This year, the Tour’s official website, www.tourofmissouri.com, received hits from visitors in 153 countries and territories. An estimated audience of 5.6 million people watched nightly highlight shows on the Versus television network and an estimated 1.4 million people watched highlight shows on Fox Sports Midwest and Fox Sports Kansas City.

Following the 2008 Tour of Missouri, the International Cycling Union, the sanctioning body for professional cycling, raised the ranking of the Tour of Missouri to a prestigious 2.HC ranking, making the event one of the top five races outside of Europe. The increased international appeal helped attract seven pro tour teams who competed just weeks before in the Tour de France.

The 2009 Tour of Missouri economic impact study was conducted by IFM Sports, an international leader in sports marketing and research. IFM is a global company based in Germany with American operations based in St. Louis, MO.

IFM Sports conducted the economic impact study for the 2008 Tour of Missouri. They have also provided similar reports for groups such as: Major League Baseball (MLB), the International Cycling Union (UCI), the International Tennis Federation and the National Basketball Association (NBA), among many other professional sporting organizations.

At today’s Missouri Tourism Commission meeting in Branson, Lt. Governor Kinder pledged his support for a 2010 race and urged fellow commissioners to also support bringing the event back for a fourth year

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Dedicated volunteer includes Kanakuk Kamp in his will

A Columbia man who was killed in a farm accident Sunday appears to have included Kanakuk Kamps in his will, according to on-line Taney County probate documents.

While attention has centered recently on former camp director Pete Newman, who is charged with four felony sex crime involving underage boys, Kanakuk's reputation, for the most part, has been connected with people like the late Kenny Rall, who was described this way in an obituary in the Columbia Tribune:

Kenny was a graduate of Hickman High School and the University of Missouri. He received the rank of Eagle Scout, was the president of the local FFA chapter during high school and was a member of the Farm House fraternity at the University of Missouri. He was very involved with Kanakuk Kamps and their K-Life ministry in the Columbia area and was an active member of Woodcrest Chapel. Kenny was an independent businessman.

Kenny valued his family and friends. He was always ready and willing to lend a helping hand, and he never knew a stranger. Everyone was his friend.

He is survived by his father, Kenneth Rall Sr.; a son, Jason Rall; two daughters, Kristen and Katelyn Rall; a sister, Susan Lenz; a brother, Kurt Rall; his wife, Kathy Rall, and children George-Austin Terlep and Anna Terlep; and his stepmother, Betsy Baker Rall.

Beneficiaries of Mr. Rall's will included his family members, according to the court documents.
The family asked that memorial donations be made to Kanakuk.

Joplin area legislators steer away from lobbyists in August

While House Minority Leader MIke Talboy, D-Kansas City, was receiving $3,234.55 worth of lobbyists' gifts in August, the six Joplin area legislators steered away from them for the most part in August, collecting only $113.85 in gifts, according to documents posted today on the Missouri Ethics Commission website.

Three legislators, Tom Flanigan, R-Carthage, Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, and Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, did not accept any gifts at all, while Ed Emery, R-Lamar, had only $9.35, according to the documents.

The local leaders were Speaker of the House Ron Richard, R-Joplin, with $54.50 and Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City, with $50.

News-Leader: E. coli report reached Nixon's staff

Springfield News-Leader reporter Chad Livengood notes in an article posted today that the e. coli scandal has reached where everyone knew it was headed from the first- right into Gov. Jay Nixon's office:

The record now reflects at least two high-level Nixon staffers were aware of the results -- up to four weeks before Watson says he found out in late June -- and they didn't instruct DNR to distribute the information to the general public.

At least one Nixon aide sought to contain the release of information to just media outlets in the lake region, which has fueled the controversy as the DNR and Nixon get accused of a possible cover-up.

"Why didn't the governor's office do something with the information they had regarding water in other parts of the lake?" asked state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Republican member of a Senate committee investigating the matter.

Last week, former DNR communications director Susanne Medley told Senate investigators she informed Nixon aide Jeff Mazur on May 29 and gave him "periodic updates" in the following weeks as DNR wrestled with how to portray the results without -- in Medley's words -- panicking the public or harming the tourism industry.

Junkets lift Talboy past $12,000 mark in lobbyists' gifts

The number one recipient of lobbyists' gifts in the Missouri House of Representatives, Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, was at it again in August, grabbing an additional $3,234.55 in gifts, an amount which tops the amount of gifts received by most legislators in an entire year. The information was posted earlier today on the Missouri Ethics Commission website.

Most of Talboy's total came from two junkets, a week-long trip to New York City funded by Betsy Ledgerwood, lobbyist for the Missouri Coalition of Children Agencies. Ms. Ledgerwood, one of the powerful Gamble & Schlemeier firm, which represents a number of interests, including Ameristar Casinos and the Missouri Health Care Association, footed the bill for Talboy's meals, a tour of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, for a total of $1,110.

Talboy had a $95.87 dinner on Aug. 8, and other dinners which cost $41.63, $65,84, $54.97 and $88.

Not all of Talboy's junket was funded by the Coalition, according to the Ethics Commission documents. While he was in the Big Apple, the high-rolling Talboy also was entertained by Damon Shelby Porter, who at the time was the lobbyist for Time Warner Cable. Porter paid for $960 worth of entertainment, described as "Royal Crown seats" for Talboy on Aug. 10.

The New York City conference was not the only junket attended ty Talboy in August, according ot the Ethics Commission documents. Talboy, who has an outside chance of becoming Speaker of the House if the Democrats find some way to regain a majority in the House, also had travel worth $818.68 paid for by Alex Eaton, lobbyist for the Missouri Biotechnology Association on Aug. 24.

On the same day, Talboy had a meal paid for by Brent Hemphill, representing his lobbying firm Hemphill & Associates, according to the Ethics Commission documents. Hemphill's client list incudes Argosy Casino, AT&T, the Missouri Restaurant Association, Pelopidas, and Penn National Gaming,. It must have been some kind of meal. The documents show it cost $326.60.

The $3,000+ haul in AUgust, is in addition to the more than $2,000 in lobbyists' gifts Talboy received in July, as outlined earlier in The Turner Report:

Talboy received $2,705.04 in gifts during July, making his total for the first seven months of 2009 $9,185.65. His nearest competitor, fellow Kansas City Democrat Leonard Hughes is nearly $5,000 behind him.

The July totals include $1,655.48 for travel to a Bio World Congress in Montreal, paid for by lobbyist Alex Eaton, Missouri Biotechnology Association, $760 for Crown Seat tickets at Kauffman Stadium to a July 19 game between the Kansas City Royals and the Tampa Bay Rays from Madeline Romious, AT&T, and $165 worth of St. Louis Cardinals tickets from Irl Scissors, representing Simmons Cooper LLC.

Talboy also picked up a $64.08 meal from David Hale of the Missouri Hospital Association and two $5 tickets to Riverfront 2009 from Michael Burke, Port Authority of Kansas City.

His earlier 2009 activities were described this way:

When the Kansas City Royals played host to the St. Louis Cardinals June 19-21, Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, was there for all three games.

During the first game, he plopped himself down in the most expensive seats at Kauffman Stadium, the Crown Seat, described on the Royals' website as a place where a fan can "enjoy a number of benefits including meals, snacks and beverages in the exclusive Crown Club, and in-seat wait-service."

On the Saturday and Sunday of the series, Talboy also showed his dedication to the local Royals, though he did not sit in a Crown Seat.

Or to paraphrase the old Mastercard commercials:

Crown Seat tickets at a Royals-Cardinals game- $250
Dugout Box Seats - $43

Having the same special interests whose legislation you vote on pay for your seats and meals- Priceless

Reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission show lobbyist Madeline Romious, AT&T not only paid for Talboy's Crown Seat ticket, but also for two others, at a cost of $760.

Picking up the $90 tab for the Saturday game was Nancy Giddens, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

Finishing off the series, Gregory Gaffke, representing Embarq provided Talboy with $184 worth of tickets.

The three-day total- $1,034

***
Mike Talboy is racking up lobbyists' gifts at a near-record pace. As I noted in the last post, Talboy tops The Turner Report Hall of Shame for the Missouri House of Representatives with $6,480.61 for the first six months of 2009. That total is nearly $2,500 more than the runner-up, his fellow KC Democrat, Leonard Hughes.

And things have gotten worse since the conclusion of the 2009 legislative session. Between June 3 and June 30, a four-week period, Talboy received $2,314.15 worth of gifts, more than 150 of the 163 members of the House of Representatives have picked up during the entire year.

Add the $1,143.44 on Talboy's ledger during the final two weeks of May after the session ended and he had a total of $3,457.59 in six weeks, more than all but two other representatives had collected for the entire year.

During that time period, Talboy's gifts included:

-$995.86 from Kelly Gillespie, Missouri Biotechnology Association, for travel and lodging for the National Summit on Biotech Diversity in Atlanta, Ga. While he was at the summit, Talboy had two meals paid for by lobbyists- one for $30.39 by Monsanto's Duane Simpson, and the other, a $24 meal at Dantanna's, by Debra Flores, Boeringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. Dantanna's is described this way on its website:

Dantanna’s combines culinary excellence with the entertainment value of sports to create the ultimate restaurant experience. Dantanna’s is not a sports bar – it’s Atlanta’s only upscale sports restaurant that exudes the sophistication and elegance of a five-star restaurant and excitement and entertainment of having a private box at your favorite game.


-Ameristar Casino lobbyist Sarah Topp, representing the Missouri Railroad Association, paid for $59.50 worth of concert tickets on June 3.

-Betsy Ledgerwood, Missouri Coalition of Children's Agencies, paid $282.14 for airfare to a conference.

-On June 22, Sara Schuett, Missouri Bar, paid $475 for continuing legal education services and $304.88 for travel.

***

Even though Talboy piled it on during the last two weeks of May and the month of June, lobbyists also plied him with gifts during the legislative session, including:

-On Inauguration day, Franc Flotron, representing his lobbying firm, Flotron & McIntosh footed the bill for $153.99 in meals, while Charles Simino, Embarq, paid for $84.16.

-Brent Hemphill, Hemphill & Associates paid for $153.40 in meals, food, and beverage on March 11.

-Madeline Romious, AT&T bought Talboy four tickets to a first round NCAA Basketball Tournament in Kansas City March 19. That bit of March Madness cost $252.

Disgraced St. Louis Democrat resigns House seat

Rep. Talibdin El-Amin, D-St. Louis who pleaded guilty last week in federal court to bribery, officially resigned his House seat Wednesday. El-Amin is the third St. Louis Democrat to resign following a guilty plea in recent weeks, following the lead of Sen Jeff Smith and Rep. Steve Brown:

Gov. Jay Nixon said he notified Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan of a Feb. 2 special election to fill the vacancy.

“There is simply no place in public service for those who are involved in bribery,” Nixon said in a statement.

Fired Up follows up on Swift Boater's contribution

Fired Up Missouri, the leading Democratic blog in Missouri, is following up on an item posted earlier this week on The Turner Report, the contribution of $100,000 to the Seventh Congressional District Committee by Texas home builder Robert Perry and his wife Doylene. As well as giving the background on previous operations of the Committee and its connection to Rep. Roy Blunt, the following observation was made:

That said, it's not clear yet what will happen with this $100,000, or why a Texas businessman is so interested in what's happening this cycle in Missouri. When the Swift Boaters come to town, you never know.

Liquidation sale becomes surplus inventory sale

Just a note: What was termed as a liquidation sale for Joplin Business Journal equipment in an advertisement sent out earlier this week is now a surplus inventory sale. The latest advertisement makes no mention of Joplin Business Journal.

It is scheduled for today and tomorrow, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 420 North Rangeline, Suite 21, Joplin.

Stouffer: Americans tired of Skelton playing yes man to Nancy Pelosi

During a campaign stop n Marshfield last week, Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Saline County, who is challenging Ike Skelton for the Fourth District Congressional seat linked the incumbent with the woman who has become a symbol of liberalism, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:

“As I travel the district, I constantly hear that folks have simply had enough of the same old Washington-style politics,” Stouffer wrote. “They’ve had enough of big government, enough wasteful spending and enough of Ike Skelton consistently saying ‘yes’ to Nancy Pelosi’s liberal agenda.”

Stouffer said Skelton has grown out of touch with his district.