Jan 10

Meet the Statewide Candidates: Judy Baker (D) and Josh Hawley (R)

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January 10, 2016

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – While the candidates have been criss-crossing the state as part of the campaign trail for months now, the new year brings a sense of urgency to the 2016 elections.

This week, we meet two of those candidates.

Former State Representative Judy Baker wants to succeed Clint Zweifel as State Treasurer (Zweifel cannot run for another term due to term limits). She’s a Democrat who worked for the US Department of Health and Human Services following her work in the Legislature. Baker has also taught at both Columbia College and the University of Missouri.

Republican Josh Hawley hopes to become the state’s next Attorney General. He teaches law at the University of Missouri Law School  in addition to having an active law practice. He was co-counsel on the “Hobby Lobby Case” that challenged part of the Affordable Care Act’s (aka “ObamaCare”) coverage mandates on businesses. That case went to the US Supreme Court and was decided in favor of Hobby Lobby.

On the web:

Judy Baker for State Treasurer

Josh Hawley for Attorney General 

Judy BakerHawley-headshot

Photos courtesy of the candidates’ respective websites

Permanent link to this article: http://americanviewpoints.tv/meet-the-statewide-candidates-judy-baker-d-and-josh-hawley-r/

Jan 03

The 2016 Missouri Legislative Session: A Preview of the Headlines

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January 3, 2016

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – The Missouri State Legislature officially returns to work this week as the Regular Legislative Session begins on Tuesday.

With Republicans holding overwhelming majorities in both chambers, they would seem to have an easy few months ahead of them. Of course, it’s not that simple; some of the debates from 2015 are not settled and are likely to return for another round of debates and voting this year.

Ethics reform, Medicaid expansion, “Right To Work”, highway funding, public school transfers and “Ban The Box” are among the topics expected to make the headlines this year.

This week, Ryan Johnson from the Missouri Alliance for Freedom and former State Representative Jeanette Mott-Oxford from Empower Missouri offer two different perspectives on what’s likely to happen and what should happen when lawmakers reconvene. They also have two different views on how these decisions will impact you and you wallet.

On the web:

Missouri Alliance for Freedom

Empower Missouri

Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri Senate

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Permanent link to this article: http://americanviewpoints.tv/the-2016-missouri-legislative-session-a-preview-of-the-headlines/

Dec 27

2015: Missouri in Review and a Preview of Missouri’s 2016

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December 27, 2015

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – The good, the bad and the political. This week, we take a look back at a tumultuous year for the state.

We also look ahead to what lies ahead for Missouri in 2016.

I’m joined by the Kansas City Star’s Jason Hancock and St. Louis Public Radio’s Jo Mannies. Both cover statewide politics and campaigns for their respective news outlets.

From the tragic death of a statewide official to the impact of scandals that led to resignations in the Missouri Legislature to campus protests at Mizzou to the ever-changing landscape of the campaign trail, 2015 was an eventful year. 2016 will likely be as eventful and intriguing.

On the web:

Kansas City Star

St. Louis Public Radio

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Permanent link to this article: http://americanviewpoints.tv/2015-missouri-in-review-and-a-preview-of-missouris-2016/

Dec 20

Will Tomorrow’s Tech-Savvy Workforce Come From Missouri?

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December 20, 2015

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – Business leaders in Missouri know that tomorrow’s workforce will have to be tech-savvy for almost every industry.

Will the workforce Missouri businesses employ, who will drive the state’s economy and prosperity, actually be from Missouri? Maybe not. Tech industry leaders as well as business associations are concerned that today’s students, especially in rural parts of Missouri, aren’t being fully equipped to compete for tomorrow’s jobs.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President of Education, Brian Crouse (below, left), explains why business has taken such an interest in what’s being taught in Missouri’s grade schools, middle schools and high schools. Young people here in the Show Me State aren’t just competing with workers around the block or even in the next town. They are – and will continue to be – competing for jobs with workers around the world. That’s one of the reasons for the Chamber’s Math and Science Coalition: to increase interest in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math).

AT&T Missouri* President John Sondag agrees and explains why tech companies, including his, are also offering technical education. There’s a real concern about the future workforce in the state and throughout the nation. Will they be ready and as educated as they need to be to compete with workers and competing businesses in Japan, Brazil, India, China and many other nations? Right now, we cannot emphatically answer that question with a “yes”.

Both Crouse and Sondag agree: getting Missouri and America ready for the economy of tomorrow requires changes to our education system, changes to the training provided by businesses themselves and updates to how we all view education for every Missouri child.

 

On the web:

Missouri Chamber of Commerce

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  • AT&T Missouri is a sponsor of “Missouri Viewpoints”

 

Permanent link to this article: http://americanviewpoints.tv/will-tomorrows-tech-savvy-workforce-come-from-missouri/

Dec 13

New Rules For Politicians? Ethics Reform in Missouri.

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December 13, 2015

 

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – After a year of what some would call scandals and otherwise controversial changes in the Missouri Legislature, both Republicans and Democrats say they will pursue some form of ethics reform legislation in 2016.

Accusation of lawmakers having inappropriate relationships with interns and of elected officials moving too quickly between roles as voting lawmakers and into lucrative lobbying jobs were among the conflicts in 2015. Both parties say they don’t want that to happen again in 2016, although the visions of what are the right reforms may differ.

The new Speaker of the House, Todd Richardson, has indicated ethics reform will be among the first issues addressed in a few weeks when lawmakers return to the Capitol.

State Rep. Gina Mitten (D) and former State Sen. John Lamping (R) provide insight on reforms they think would help decrease inappropriate behavior by lawmakers.

  • Special thanks to the Missouri Alliance for Freedom for helping arrange the interview with Mr. Lamping.

On the web:

State Rep. Gina Mitten (D)

Former State Sen. John Lamping (R)

Missouri Alliance for Freedom

GinaMittenLamping

Permanent link to this article: http://americanviewpoints.tv/new-rules-for-politicians-ethics-reform-in-missouri/

Dec 06

Holiday Special 2015: Help Feed Missouri!

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December 6, 2015

by Mike Ferguson

(Bridgeton, MO) – It’s Missouri’s almost silent danger: “food insecurity”.

That’s a nice way of saying “hunger”. The economic condition of not having enough money to provide three full meals a day for yourself and/or your family. It happens more than you may realize and it happens closer to your home than most people think.

Feeding Missouri is the network of six food banks that supplies food pantries, shelters and other charitable work with food for those in need. They serve every county in the state and the City of St. Louis. More impressive and, at the same time, more troubling is the fact that Feeding Missouri supplies over a million Missourians with food at some point in each year.

That’s one in five Missourians.

Among the services food banks and pantries provide is the “Buddy Pack” program that sends food home with school children to make sure they have dinner that evening or food over the weekend.

This week, we go on location to one of Feeding Missouri’s food banks and get a behind the scenes look at how they manage such a large operation on a non-profit basis. More importantly, we also find out how easy it is for you to help and we hear directly from some of their volunteers around the state.

The need for food assistance remains constant throughout the year but the holiday season is when food banks receive the most donations. That’s why it’s important to help now and stay involved once the holiday lights are packed away in your garage.

On the web: Feeding Missouri

 

Permanent link to this article: http://americanviewpoints.tv/holiday-special-2015-help-feed-missouri/

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