Lant To Pursue Vacant Seat In McDonald County

If it hasn't run already, portions of my interview with first-term Rep. Bill Lant will air later today, where Lant announces that he will pursue the new 159th District in McDonald County.

Lant, who currently lives outside Joplin and operates a feed store north of Seneca, was drawn into the same district as another first-term Republican, Bill Reiboldt of Neosho. Reiboldt, currently the vice-chairman of the agriculture committee, lives on his family's farm just outside Neosho, and the 160th district is centered on Neosho. Lant says that he owns land in McDonald County and has been planning to build a home there for some time.

The 159th will contain all of McDonald County as well as the Newton County communities of Seneca and Stella. (In fact, the new boundary between the two districts runs along Iris Road, just south of the feed store.) Previously, Neosho was grouped into the 130th district also containing Anderson, Goodman and South West City, wholly surrounded by the 131st district and the state boundary.

Under Missouri law, a representative is allowed to run for office in another district if he or she is forced out by redistricting. If elected, the representative would have one year to relocate. Already Andrew Koenig (R-Wincester), Jason Holsman (D-Kansas City) and now Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) have announced plans to run for vacant districts as a result of being grouped into new districts with other incumbents.

Additionally, Charlie Davis (R-Webb City) is said to be moving to a different part of Webb City as as a result of his placement in a district with Tom Loehner (R-Carthage). The line between the 162nd & 163rd districts is four blocks from Davis' house.

Brian Williams Chill Pill Needed

Brian Williams, who was once anchor at Joplin's KOAM-TV, displayed a most admirable sense of cool and collected composure when fire alarms blared during his live broadcast of NBC Nightly News this week, and likewise when he did spot reporting from his one-time home in the aftermath of last May's tornado.

If only I had that amount of cool this evening when I saw the new maps of the Missouri House and Senate districts. Fortunately, the Senate maps (outside St. Louis) allowed me to regain some composure and stop my neighbors from asking what the heck I was screaming about. Well, when something odd happens close to home, you're inclined to freak out:

This is the House district line between districts 16 (south) and 38 (north & east). In the northwestern corner is District 12, which will stretch from Platte City to Kearney.

You'd expect to see such sawtooth boundaries in urban districts, but we're not talking about two suburban districts. Because of the population distribution between the growing suburbs of Kansas City and the greying breadbasket of Northern Missouri, District 16 will consist of subdivisions ranging from Gashland and New Mark to Shoal Creek Valley and parts of North Brook, while District 38 will stretch from this area east to Excelsior Springs and Missouri City. However, the population of Liberty (the oldest municipality in the Kansas City area), is in for a shock.

After I gave up on using the state administration office's GIS tool, I downloaded the KML files for display in Google Earth, and the results were damning through Liberty.


This is Exit 17, the junction between Interstate 35 and Highway 291. At this point (OK, a few yards away owing to pre-Interstate road alignments) is the confluence of districts 16 (southwest), 17 (southeast) and 38 (northeast). This is where the boundary for 38 really gets screwy. A small subdivision across from Lewis & Clark Elementary is split along its lone, winding street. It then follows Gallatin down toward Ridgeway Road, heads south toward Fairview and then onto the Junior High.


This is downtown Liberty and one of its historic neighborhoods to the west. The red line decides to jog around, going east a block on Kansas, then south on Moss until it hits Liberty Drive, then east onto Mill until it becomes Richfield Drive at William Jewell. The square and college are in District 38; the Junior High and Franklin Elementary, District 17. Again, William Jewell is in a rural district with Excelsior Springs and Franklin Elementary is in a suburban district with Claycomo and Pleasant Valley.

From Richfield Road, the boundary goes south on Claywoods Parkway, the main north-south road through the Claywoods subdivisions. Until it hits this group of houses:


The district boundary breaks away to group the first two houses on Silverleaf Lane, then goes along the backyards of several houses until it reaches a home that has its back against the cul-de-sac on Crimson Lane. The boundary goes along the property lines, through the cul-de-sac, and then makes a due-south dash for the water treatment plant. Yes, that means two houses on Crimson Lane are in one suburban district, whilst the rest of the street is in the neighboring rural district.

I'm hearing stories of how as many as three incumbents could be pitted against each other for one seat (the new District 5 between Shelby, Marion and northern Monroe counties is coming to mind), but this meticulous buzzsaw through Liberty really got my blood boiling. And this could have been prevented had nine Republicans and nine Democrats been able to actually agree to something workable rather than stick with their own political endeavours.

Now, folks going door to door campaigning through Claywoods and Brooke Meadows will wind up cherry-picking doors as a result of oddly drawn lines.

Get the sheers out, folks. Just don't use them when you're on chill pills soon to be named for Brian Williams.

On Disparaging Tweets

November doesn't seem like a good month to be a Tweeter in a certain state to the west.

This week, regional media was abuzz over a tweet sent by Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School, making a disparaging comment about Kansas Governor Sam Brownback as he was speaking to her school's Youth in Government during a field trip to the state capitol in Topeka. She and her supporters say the tweet (complete with "#heblowsalot") was a joke, but the Governor's office is certainly not laughing, as their complaint to administrators at East has resulted in the school requiring Sullivan to write a letter of apology to Brownback.

While this certainly tests the lines on freedom of expression within the confines of our schools, especially when it comes to social media and politics, I'm only dumbstruck by the lack of decorum exhibited by both parties. While students should not "check their First Amendment rights at the door", as famously phrased in Tinker vs. United States, it was disrespectful of Sullivan to make that Tweet as the governor was speaking to her school group. She certainly had the right to make those comments, but the manner in which it was done lacked tact (and, if such a policy exists, likely goes against the school's code on mobile phone use during class or similar school function).

The governor's office isn't looking any better on this. Sullivan's Twitter feed, prior to this week's row, only had fewer than 100 followers. It was public and open for anyone to find and search. Including Brownback's director of communications, who informed the school about the tweet. Plenty of Brownback detractors are calling the action and mere existence of saved searches scouring the web for anything mention the governor's name as akin to the thought police. While it's unclear whether the governor's office demanded the apology or school administrators suggested the idea, it's a blatant over-reaction.

If Brownback (or more appropriately his staffers) are worried about a singular insult from an 18-year-old, self-identified Democrat who plans on going to college in a different state, how the heck are they going to handle proper criticism from a serious political challenger? And if the school's administration have taken it upon themselves to mandate this letter, complete with talking points, how exactly is this a student making a sincere apology for an act of disrespect and not administrators in Kansas' second-largest school district begging Brownback to not take out his disapproval (or disdain for dissenting opinions) on their funding?

Then again, if Brownback would cut funding or demand apologies because of Tweets that lack all sense of decorum, KU's "Missouri forfeits a century-old rivalry. We win." three weeks ago should bring about a similar action, especially if today's game results in Mizzou claiming a lop-sided win on their way to the SEC East.

The Joplin Spirit

The following was submitted for publication in The Romney Marsh Times, an internet-based publication serving the Romney Marsh area of Kent.

When I relocated to the Kentish Riviera two years ago, one of the first things I did was review the history of the area I was soon to call home. Although my time in Folkestone lasted far shorter than I had hoped, I left having a greater understanding and appreciation for many of the aspects that form common characteristics in our rechristened “essential relationship”.

One of these common traits is the can-do attitude that a people who fervently believe in their way of life and fellow man, woman and child can overcome any oppressive, seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The Dunkirk Spirit—the rescue of thousands of British soldiers from the onslaught of the Third Reich’s Blitzkrieg—reverberates to this day in the many war memorials, community events, and appeals that bring together villages and towns across Britain. The challenge proved difficult with the arrival of the Blitz, especially in Hellfire Corner. But Britain persevered.

Two years today marks the first time I walked through the garden on Sandgate Road, where Christ Church once stood. Its clock tower remained intact following persistent cross-Channel bombardment, a testament to the Dunkirk Spirit. In the past week, I’ve been reminded of that testament as Mother Nature unleashed her worst on my home state Missouri.

It only took a matter of minutes for a tornado to descend on the south end of Joplin and carve a path of devastation six miles long and in some places a mile wide. The numbers and pictures from the area are jarring: 142 dead, at least 100 still unaccounted for, tens of thousands homeless, nearly $3 billion (£1.82 billion) in damage, and street corners unrecognisable. The cyclone has been described as the eighth-deadliest in the record books, the worst in almost sixty years. And storms causing flash flooding and more tornado scares have only added insult to injury.

While it will take years for Joplin to physically recover, its spirit is far from broken.

Within hours of the storm’s damage airing on local and national television, donation drives and volunteer efforts began sprouting up. The next morning, Americans from every walk of life offered their change, blood veins, and labour to help. Over 65,000 people joined a Facebook group expressing support for Joplin's recovery, also giving survivors a chance to reconnect with loved ones. Church congregations and businesses from Springfield, Tulsa, Northwest Arkansas, Kansas City and beyond sent lorry after lorry containing much-needed essentials. Donation appeals emerged in bank parking lots, hotel lobbies, and even a furniture outlet store collecting stuffed toys. Major sport clubs are in the effort, with the owner of Kansas City’s NFL franchise taking a hands-on role in packing bottled water.

Amid the damage, the rebuilding has already begun. Flags fly full-mast at Joplin’s damaged school buildings, including the high school that must be razed and rebuilt. The St John’s Regional Medical Center, whose nine-storey shell has become the icon of this disaster, is already crafting plans for a new facility to continue their 126-year ministry. While these are critical pillars of any community, it falls on the people who call Joplin home to revive and sustain their wounded hometown.

One would only need dial into any of Joplin’s radio stations to hear their spirit endure. Since 4 p.m. Sunday Joplin’s main ownership cluster has provided continuous coverage, allowing residents to call and tell the world they’re OK, find out information about shelters, and look for loved ones who have gone missing. Several staff members remain at the studios with nothing but what they brought in that weekend, and they remain committed to getting their community back on their feet. I can barely imagine how I would be able to endure were I to find myself in a similar situation, prioritising the needs of my community over the pain of personal loss.

While it is expected of any licensed broadcaster, canine search and rescue team, or national guardsman to provide their public service during a crisis, it takes community spirit to overcome the personal grief and dismay from living in the midst of a nightmare and pull together for the greater good.

The history books will look at the tornado of 22nd May 2011 not as the single twister that destroyed one-third of Missouri’s thirteenth-largest city, but as the calamity that cultivated the Joplin Spirit. An EF-5 cyclone may have uprooted the lives of tens of thousands, but millions of hearts, bound and beating together with prayer, charity for an afflicted neighbour, and sense of duty to restore some semblance of normalcy, will remain firmly entrenched in all who call Joplin and surrounding communities home.

Joplin will persevere. Its streets may resemble a war zone, but its people are resilient and their fellow Missourians stand in solidarity for their recovery.

The Joplin Spirit will prevail.

Fayetteville Finger, Meet Nolte's Notch

Being situated in Missouri's unofficial 118th County, naturally I've been keeping an eye on the redistricting efforts in the Natural State. Today, Arkansas's House approved a measure that would draw Fayetteville and southeastern Washington County into the Democrat-leaning Fourth Congressional District and out of the third, which currently is centered on the I-540 corridor. The vote went 52-46, with only one of Fayetteville's reps voting for the proposal.

So the talk of gerrymandering down here has giving me a sharpened set of eyes to review the proposed map that Missouri's House Redistricting Committee has placed on its Web site and discussed in earnest today. Naturally, the presumed "odd man out" Russ Carnahan joined with likely primary opponent William Clay in opposing the proposal to split St. Louis City and County among two districts. And with Missouri having to redraw to account for one less district, there will be plenty of fighting in the six weeks remaining in the General Assembly's session.

And while most of the state's focus will be on St. Louis (again, because a member of the Carnahan dynasty is pretty much the "odd man out"), lines have shifted considerably in the Western half of the state.

Consider the current setup of Kansas City and, by extension, the Athenian corridor better known as Highway 63: (derived from The National Atlas' map of Missouri's current delegations)

After the 2000 Census, Jackson County was split between three congressional districts, the bulk containing Kansas City in the Democrat-leaning fifth, a sliver in the stalwart fourth, and an increasingly conservative suburban region added to the expansive sixth. Columbia anchored the ninth district that covered Northeast Missouri and added counties along the northernmost reaches of the Ozarks.

Now, under the House's initial plan, we have this:

Lafayette, Ray, and Saline counties would be added to the fifth, and in exchange for losing Ike Skelton's stomping grounds, the fourth would receive Howard and Cooper counties from the sixth, plus Columbia in Boone County and the southern half of Randolph County, including all of Moberly. The remainder of the ninth would go to the sixth in the north and a new third district in the south. Miller County, which was originally at the edge of the district and jutting between the fourth and sixth, now becomes a critical retention point as the home county of incumbent Blaine Leuktemeyer. To that effect, Cole and most of Camden are added to this re-designated district.

The wonkiest drawings here, though, take place along the major byways of Kansas City's suburbs. With Jackson County's overall population showing little growth, adding Ike's core counties (traditionally Democrat) didn't do enough to bring the district's population up to snuff. Especially after the current portion in Cass County was moved to the fourth, as to ensure that incumbent Vicky Hartzler had the entirety of her home county. And with Eastern Jackson County solidly leaning Republican, placing them in the fifth would cause displeasure in their ranks, despite Sam Graves having to cross through the fifth to get there by car. So enter Clay County, a decent mix of suburbs to the south and west, farmland points north and east:


The line in red denotes the county line not marking the boundary between the two districts. Note that with Jackson to the south and Ray to the east, the fifth district would claim two significant population areas: Excelsior Springs and Lawson in the northeast corner, and several gentrified suburbs in the southwest. While these areas have historically leaned Democratic, this (as well as every other district being redrawn or not being redrawn for lack of enough population to warrant multiple districts in a state) guarantees nothing come November 2012.

Hence, labeling this convenient drawing of the line meandering through Jackson and Clay counties "Nolte's Notch", so named for State Representative and former Gladstone mayor Jerry Nolte. Nolte has generated plenty of attention with proposed this legislation this year, particularly his bills pegging the state's minimum wage to the federal minimum wage, requiring drivers tests to be administered in English, and eliminating the franchise tax over the next five years. Nolte, who is term-limited from the House after 2012, piqued the pundits' attention when he created an exploratory committee to look at a run for Congress when Graves was flirting at the prospect of challenging Claire McCaskill for the Senate.

Less than 24 hours after Nolte filed exploratory paperwork, Graves announced he would prefer staying in the House as chairman of the Committee on Small Businesses. When interviewed by Roll Call's Tricia Miller later that week, Nolte indicated that he would still consider a run for Congress if he happened to be going up against Emmanuel Cleaver, current representative from the fifth.

Cleaver, the AME preacher who was mayor of Kansas City from 1991 to 1999, received a scare from perennial Republican challenger Jacob Turk in 2010. Cleaver won re-election with only 53 percent of the vote, and now serves as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

So lo and behold: Nolte's Notch, encompassing North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, Gracemor and Birmingham. A chance for him or any Republican who didn't want to challenge Graves or Hartzler to take their aim on Cleaver, and by extension anything remotely to the left of them.

Of course, the Senate has yet to release their proposal, and both are subject to changes large and small as the next six weeks play out. And it's not yet known how the Blue Dog counties of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline would react to being represented by either a minority Democrat from the urban core or a suburbanite Republican from a county that backed Proposition B by a two-to-one margin. But if the House's plan were to hold firm, Missouri could end up with one Democrat out of eight in their House delegation. Presuming, rather prematurely, the chips fall the same way in 2012 the way they did in 2010.

A Refresher Course For Mike

A Primer From Someone Who Pretty Much Did The Same Thing Mike's Doing:
Left Missouri To Return To An Old Job Just Outside The State

Things have changed rapidly in Northwest Arkansas since the last time Mike Anderson held a job here. Heck, even some things changed since I was last employed south of the border some 22 months ago. But now, since I've been here the last five weeks re-acquainting myself with the turf that formed my initial status as The Missouri Expatriate, I'm going to relay some refreshers to the newest escapee from The Shear-Me State.

1. There are a lot more people here than there were when Nolan was chased out of town with pitchforks.
   Yep, Northwest Arkansas remains one of the fastest growing places in the nation. Two of the fastest growing counties in the 2010 Census were Washington and Benton counties, the two that make up the core of the region. In fact, Benton's rapid growth allowed them to surpass Washington (whose county seat is Fayetteville) as the second-most populous county in the Natural State, with Pulaski still in the top spot. With that in mind…
   
2. Ojala que haya aprendido español, laosiano o aún marshalesa.
   The rapid growth of population and commerce in the area also includes a large influx of migrant workers from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Marshall Islands. Most of them are employed by the poultry behemoth Tyson and their competitors George's, Cargill and Cobb-Vantress. This influx has added a unique character to their places of residence. Be ready to translate to English several signs, especially along 8th Street in Rogers and the east end of Springdale.
   
3. Forget Hy-Vee, QuikTrip, and Shakespeare's. They're still not here.
   Although the area has a plethora of independent pizza joints (Jim's Razorback, Eureka, Tim's), there's nothing like the unique feel of Shakespeare's. Also, it's going to be hit-or-miss finding Boulevard on tap (though I confess I don't know if Mike's the kind of guy who'll down a pint) or toasted ravioli.
   
   Despite Iowa-based Kum and Go making an aggressive push into the market (and fellow Hawkeye chain Casey's building its first store in Arkansas at Bella Vista's Highland Crossing) Hyvee still hasn't set designs on the area, with Walmart and Harps remaining the main game. (Yes, that means no Schnuks either!) And although QuikTrip is headquartered 90 miles to the west in Tulsa, they haven't touched the area either.
   
4. There's still no Bella Vista bypass, either.
   Get used to stopping at lights in Jane and stop-and-go traffic between Lancashire Drive and Lowe's, because the Bella Vista Bypass remains nowhere near completion. It's the critical cog that's keeping MoDOT from having US-71 south of Joplin labelled I-49. And if we're lucky, a two-lane bypass will open in four years that'll just provide a shortcut to Hiwasse. Worse, MoDOT's had the funding ready for years, but now as Arkansas's getting their act together to bypass what is now the state's ninth-largest city, MoDOT sits at risk of a massive budget shortfall.
   
5. Get ready to elect a congressman from Texarkana. Or Helena-West Helena.
   In spite of civic leaders and members of both parties saying how flagrant a gerrymander it is, members of Arkansas' re-districting committees are seriously considering a plan that would gerrymander Fayetteville out of the Third District (which reaches to Harrison, Fort Smith and Russellville) and into the last-remaining Democrat district, the fourth district in the southern half of the state. Supporters contend that Fayetteville's majority-Democrat population believe their votes are being wasted in a district that's been reliably Republican for 30-plus years. However, this gerrymander would be achieved by a "pig tail" through the Ozark National Forest in eastern Sebastian County, entirely surrounded by the Third District. And really, what does a college town surrounded by Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt have in common with the likes of DeQueen, Crossett and Lake Village?
   
   And yes, Helena consolidated with West Helena, and the city is in fact called "Helena-West Helena".
   
6. Didn't like paying to see the Columbia Tribune online? It's worse with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
   While the Columbia Tribune allows you to view ten articles online before making you pay (and you can get around it by reading the Missourian or any other paper in Missouri), you only get an abstract with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette before they insist you pay to view. Good luck finding any other daily to get freebie views; the closest is Neosho and Joplin, and they're owned by the same people who run the Kirksville Daily Express. Yeah.
   
7. Politics and planes aren't a problem here.
   No need to worry about fans from either side of the aisle taking "damn planes" to see the Hogs play. Democrat Mike Beebe's well liked here despite Arkansas becoming increasingly red, and he rarely leaves the Little Rock area.
   
8. Unfortunately, fluoridated water is.
   Despite the EPA advising polities to hold off on increasing the amount of fluoride in their drinking water, Beebe already signed legislation essentially overriding local standards and setting a statewide minimum. So once locating a dentist that's either in the Third or Fourth District that's going to charge a wee bit extra so the office staff can read entire articles online, check to make sure that iconic smile isn't getting scarred by streaks of fluoride.
   
9. On the bright side, once the euphoric homecoming passes and Arkansas is still languishing in the just-as-lousy SEC West, XNA has plenty of flights to choose from to escape the throngs of fans that still have Houston Nutt's scalp on the end of their pitchforks.
   The only thing missing is Southwest, but sooner or later they'll come here. Heck, Southwest already has an in at Branson's airport once the acquisition of AirTran is complete.
   

So there's my refresher course. Good luck Mike, because we're both going to need it.

Full Circle

Last week, I once again became an expatriate of the Show-Me State. I accepted an offer from my once-previous employers, KURM, and again am a member of their programming staff in Northwest Arkansas' Rogers. (And again I must note that views expressed here, past present and future, do not reflect the view of any of my employers, past present or future.)

This could easily be the inevitable death knell of this blog. With Missives from Missouri averaging 25 hits a day on weekly reports from nearly one-fifth the General Assembly, it has simply become the crux of what I publish online. If you haven't already, please start following Missives from Missouri on Twitter as well as the site itself.

However, I'm still that stubborn Missouri mule. I'll probably have something to post here from time to time. Good chance this will become a clip site featuring interviews I've done for them (seeing as the most riveting content on the station's Web site are the rules for Dial-A-Trade; were that not the case this blog would be on indefinite hiatus!)

As it has taken awhile for me to get situated in my flat in Missouri's 118th county, I have only now just gotten around to posting this, and a backlog of missives from the weekend are finally getting uploaded.

So here we go again: yours truly, The Missouri Expatriate

A Setting Everyone in Lohman Needs to Set

Four Missouri lawmakers and a staffer have had their Facebook profiles hacked into over the past month. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the victimized profiles logged onto Facebook via the House's public WiFi network shortly before being targeted.

Amid suggestions that the House should tighten access to their network, Facebook has introduced an option where users can log on and and surf with a secure connection. All users need to is go to their account settings and set up HTTPS browsing under "Account Security". Using an HTTPS connection, while resulting in longer waits for pages to load, would result in more information being encrypted when sent to and from the site.

Facebook's new security options includes e-mail and text alerts when a computer or mobile device access a user's account for the first time. They're also experimenting with social authentication, using pictures of the user's friends to verify that the person logging on is not a random hacker.

The change comes as an effort to prevent hackers from gaining access via public wireless networks, like those the House and Senate have in place at the State Capitol in Jefferson City. Since the session started last month, Democrat Stacey Newman of St. Louis, three Republicans (among them freshmen Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson and Dave Schatz of Sullivan) and a legislative aide to another Republican were victimized by hackers.