Joplin Police Department among agencies helping prepare for President Trump's visit to Springfield

(From the City of Springfield)

As law enforcement agencies from across southwest Missouri complete the final preparations for President Trump’s visit Friday, City Manager Jason Gage wishes to express his appreciation to the multiple agencies collaborating to ensure a successful event.

“Springfield Police Department is doing a remarkable job coordinating with the multiple agencies involved in this complicated event,” Gage said.

The agencies involved are:

• Springfield Police Department
• Missouri State Highway Patrol
• Bolivar Police Department
• Joplin Police Department
• Nixa Police Department
• Ozark Police Department
• Republic Police Department
• Christian County Sheriff’s Office
• Greene County Sheriff’s Office
• Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office
• Polk County Sheriff’s Office
• Webster County Sheriff’s Office
• Springfield Fire Department
• Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management
• Springfield-Greene County 9-1-1 Emergency Communications
• Springfield-Greene County Park Board Rangers
• Springfield Public Works Department
• Missouri Department of Transportation
• Greene County Highway Department
• BNSF Railway Co. Police
• Springfield-Branson National Airport
• City Utilities
• Missouri State University.

“Thank you to the agencies involved for working together on this event in a relatively short time frame,” said Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams. “This collaboration allows the SPD to make sure a full complement of officers is available for regular policing duties in all areas of Springfield.”

Tickets are still available for the event at https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/missouri-sept-2018

Those who wish to demonstrate at the event are encouraged to remain in designated areas. See attached map.

“Springfieldians typically demonstrate graciousness and civility during such events and we expect that to be the case again Friday,” Gage said. “We will be watched and judged by the entire nation as to how we respond and we expect the example of civility we set as a community during the President’s visit last year to continue.”

Watch Donald Trump Las Vegas Rally live at 9 p.m.- Will Billy Long be there?

It has to be a big week for Seventh District Congressman Billy Long.

Not only is President Donald Trump coming to Long's home district tonight to speak, but after this appearance in Las Vegas, Trump will be in Long's home town Springfield Friday night.


It will be interesting to see what the president has to say about the Brett Kavanaugh nomination and Kavanaugh's accuser tonight.

The rally is scheduled to start sometime around 9 p.m. Joplin time.

Bond reduction motion for Joplin man charged with using church youth group connection to molest underage boys denied

Bond for a Joplin man charged with six counts of statutory sodomy will remain at $150,000 cash only.

Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Hensley overruled the bond reduction motion for Matthew Galati, 29, Tuesday.

Galati allegedly used his connection with the New Beginning Church in Miami, Oklahoma to gain access to underage boys, then molested them, according to the probable cause statement.

On two occasions at Galati's home, the statement said, he touched an underage boy's sex organ. On a second occasion, the boy stayed overnight with Galati, who touched the child's sex organ while the two were watching a movie.



During that same time period, according to the statement, the boy and two other underage boys were sexually touched by Galati at his home, with the four of them naked in Galati's bed. At least two of the boys were in Galati's church group.

Galati is also charged with felony first degree sodomy in Newton County, where he allegedly took an 11-year-old boy into a Jacuzzi and then sexually assaulted him in a room at the LaQuinta Hotel, 3320 S. Range Line on September 16, 2017.

The probable cause statement said Galati and the boy were naked in the bed when Galati performed a sexual act on the boy with his hand. Hotel staff confirmed Galati checked into the hotel on September 16 and checked out September 17.

Galati's preliminary hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court is scheduled for 10 a.m. October 18.

Hawley: With Kavanaugh decision, McCaskill has let her true colors show

(From the Josh Hawley campaign)

McCaskill has finally let her true colors show. We all know she was never going to vote yes on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, that she would choose Schumer over Missouri yet again. She’s finally confirmed it.

It should be shocking when a Senator puts Washington special interests before her own state. With McCaskill, I can’t say I’m surprised.

But I am determined.

I am determined to win in November, and determined to give Missouri the representation in Washington that it deserves. We have gone too long with a rubber stamp for a Senator; and if you agree that we need to finally make our voices heard, I need your help.

(Editor's note: That was followed by a pitch for campaign contributions.)

State audit: Department of Economic Development doing little oversight over funds earmarked to attract businesses, marketing

(From State Auditor Nicole Galloway)

State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of the Economic Development Advancement Fund (EDAF), which is primarily overseen by the Department of Economic Development (DED). The fund supports an exclusive contract with the Hawthorn Foundation for business development and marketing, but the audit found little oversight or accountability in how taxpayer dollars are spent.

Approximately 86% of spending from the EDAF goes to the Hawthorn Foundation and its subsidiary, the Missouri Partnership, which manages nearly all of Missouri's efforts to recruit new businesses to the state. During the past three fiscal years, 45% of the Hawthorn Foundation's income came from the EDAF. Other revenues include grants, membership dues and foreign trade office income.

 

"It is essential that Missouri is competitive nationally, and this public-private partnership is helping meet that important goal. However, that does not mean taxpayers should give up the right to have their dollars used efficiently and transparently," Auditor Galloway said. "In this case, the state is not doing its due diligence to ensure accountability for millions in taxpayer dollars."

The Department of Economic Development is responsible for administering the contract and is required to provide oversight on how state funds are spent by the Hawthorn Foundation and the Missouri Partnership. However, the DED only receives general information about expenditures. During the audit, the State Auditor's Office requested details to review, but the DED declined to ask the Partnership for specific documentation on spending.

The lack of specific information on expenditures means the DED is not adequately overseeing the use of state funds. For example, over a three year period, approximately 60 percent of Partnership expenditures were for payroll and bonus payments, but the department did not receive itemized salary information for how more than $4.3 million was spent.

Additional concerns were identified in the way incentive payments were awarded by DED. Under the contract, these incentives are based on the number of jobs announced per year, but it appears the per-job performance rate was adjusted to ensure the Hawthorn Foundation received the maximum payment every year. The DED also did not independently verify the number of new jobs announced, which resulted in inconsistencies in these numbers.

"When it comes to performance-based incentives, the Department of Economic Development is simply not administering the contract effectively, instead awarding the maximum payment without verifying if the results are correct," Auditor Galloway said. "Relying on news clippings from when new businesses are announced is not an effective solution to ensure accuracy. There needs to be a better system in place."

The report also detailed actions taken by the DED to use funding from the Missouri Development Finance Board to continue to make payments to the Hawthorn Foundation, despite funding being cut from the budget. These payments were not required to be approved by the legislature, listed on the Missouri Accountability Portal or disclosed to the public. The department reimbursed the Missouri Development Finance Board after lawmakers approved funding for the Hawthorn Foundation in a supplemental budget bill.

The full report on the Economic Development Advancement Fund can be found here.

Joplin City Council schedules special meeting to amend budget for airport improvements

The Joplin City Council will meet in special session 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall to pass an emergency ordinance accepting the federal grant it has received to reconstruct Taxiway D at the airport and amending the budget to reflect the grant.

The $7.5 million grant is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program.


The meeting agenda is printed below:

AGENDA 

 1. Reading of the Special Call

2. Invocation

 3. Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America

4. Roll Call

 5. ORDINANCES – EMERGENCY COUNCIL BILL NO. 2018-612 – AN ORDINANCE - Authorizing the acceptance of a grant from the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Supplemental Appropriations for the Reconstruction of Taxiway D at the Joplin Regional Airport; and, amending the Annual Budget of the City of Joplin for the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 as adopted by Ordinance No. 2017-167 on October 16, 2017; and containing an emergency clause. 6. Any other business

Search for new Missouri commissioner of education begins today

(From the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)

The State Board of Education outlined the application and nomination process for selecting the next commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education during its September board meeting.

The board will accept applications and nominations today, Sept. 19, through 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018.

For official application and nomination materials, please visit the following website: https://dese.mo.gov/commissioner.

For additional information regarding the selection process, potential applicants may contact the department at 573-751-3563 or commissionersearch@dese.mo.gov.

MIssouri unemployment rate remains at 18-year low

(From the Missouri Department of Economic Development)

Missouri’s unemployment rate edged down another tenth of a point to 3.3 percent in August, while nonfarm payroll employment in the state grew by 1,000 jobs. The monthly increase in private-sector employment was 2,700.

This is down 0.3 percent over the past year, and the last time the state’s unemployment rate was lower than 3.3 percent was in February 2000. Missouri’s rate has been lower than the comparable U.S. rate, currently 3.9 percent, for 40 consecutive months.

August nonfarm payroll employment in Missouri was 1,000 jobs higher than the revised July level. Jobs in the private sector increased by 2,700 over the month.

Industries with job growth included Professional and Business Services (+4,000), Financial Activities (+1,100), and Leisure and Hospitality (+1,100). These gains were partly offset by job decreases in Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-1,800); Manufacturing (-1,500); and Local Government (-1,600).

Over the past year, Missouri payroll employment has grown by 35,300 (+1.2 percent). Most industry groups experienced employment growth over that period. The largest increases were in Professional and Business Services (+13,700, 3.6 percent); Private Education and Health Services (+12,100, 2.6 percent); and Leisure and Hospitality (+6,300, 2.1 percent).

Ron Richard: Term limits are there for a reason

As he completes his final session in the State Senate, Sen. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, speaks in the accompanying video about how fortunate he was to be able to spend 12 of his 16 years in the legislature in leadership positions.

The term-limited Richard also notes, "Term limits are there for a reason," adding that they provide new blood to the legislature.

Galena man sentenced to life in prison for multiple child sex crimes

(From Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt)

A Galena man was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility for parole for 25 years for multiple child sex crimes, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

Timothy Russell Frobish, 28, was found guilty by a Cherokee County jury in January 2015 of two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, one count of attempted rape, one count of criminal threat, three counts of endangering a child, one count of possession of a synthetic cannabinoid and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

 Three of the counts are subject to Jessica’s Law, which carries a possible penalty of life with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

Judge Oliver Lynch today sentenced Frobish to life in prison to be served in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Frobish is also subject to lifetime post-release supervision and electronic monitoring. The crimes occurred in February 2013.

The case was investigated by the Galena Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Attorney General Lyndzie Carter of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case.