(Radio Iowa) - The U-S Navy submarine that's named after the state of Iowa is back at port in Connecticut after its first test drives -- and test dives -- in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Mat Tanner, a retired Navy Chief submariner and executive director of the U-S-S Iowa Commissioning Committee, says the 377-foot long nuclear-powered submarine has completed its Alpha and Bravo levels of testing, where the sub is put through its paces. Tanner says, so far, so good -- no major issues. 

The three-billion-dollar submarine will have a crew of 120 enlisted personnel and 14 officers. The sub will become the fourth U-S Navy vessel to be named after the state of Iowa and Tanner says all appears on schedule for commissioning and the start of full-service military duty early next spring.

(Radio Iowa) - The U-S Navy submarine that's named after the state of Iowa is back at port in Connecticut after its first test drives -- and test dives -- in the Atlantic Ocean. Mat Tanner, a retired Navy Chief submariner and executive director of the U-S-S Iowa Commissioning Committee, says the 377-foot long nuclear-powered submarine has completed its Alpha and Bravo levels of testing, where the sub is put through its paces. Tanner says, so far, so good -- no major issues. The three-billion-dollar submarine will have a crew of 120 enlisted personnel and 14 officers. The sub will become the fourth U-S Navy vessel to be named after the state of Iowa and Tanner says all appears on schedule for commissioning and the start of full-service military duty early next spring.

Commissioning for the next USS Iowa is set for early spring

The emergency shelter shuttered unexpectedly in September after providing thousands of children with a temporary home over nearly four decades

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/anniegoldman/">ANNIE GOLDMAN</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspidel/">ANNA SPIDEL</a>

As the community grapples with the closure of the Rainbow House Children’s Emergency Shelter, questions remain about what led to the shutdown of the only shelter of its kind in mid-Missouri.

Allegations of misuse of funds have been raised by both community members and Rainbow House’s board of directors, and much of the blame has been placed on the organization’s former executive director, Melissa Faurot. But Faurot, who confirmed that she was terminated in August, said they’ve got it all wrong.

The emergency shelter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/rainbow-house-closes-its-doors-community-reacts/article_33ce2644-7c53-11ef-81bd-a7b2863dd272.html" target="_blank">shuttered its doors</a>&nbsp;unexpectedly in September after providing thousands of children with a temporary home over nearly four decades, Rainbow House founder Kathy Hughes said.

In a matter of months, the nonprofit organization went from asking for millions of dollars for a significant renovation to being the subject of a state investigation.

“It was a complete shock to me,” Hughes said. She has not been significantly involved in Rainbow House’s operations for the past several years.

Rainbow House’s nearly 1.5-acre property in north Columbia is also pending a sale, hindering hopes that operations can return to normal.

As the community wrestles with the disappearance of what advocates considered a valuable resource to children and families in 11 Missouri counties, questions persist: What happened to Rainbow House?

And, what happened to the $1.2 million raised for the facility’s planned expansion, $1.1 million of which came from the Veterans United Foundation?

In the past few months, Melissa Faurot’s name has consistently been included in online chatter about Rainbow House’s collapse.

Faurot, an attorney who was previously a board member and was part of the organization for over a decade, was the executive director of Rainbow House from August 2021 to August 2024.

“I’ve been silent for many months, and I’ve had the mud thrown at me … I’m not really interested in sitting back and being quiet anymore,” she said.

Faurot was terminated unexpectedly on Aug. 14 by the board of directors, she said. Faurot said she was not given a reason as to why she was terminated, but she speculates it had to do with disagreement between her and the board on how to handle the ongoing renovation, and the subsequent issues of fundraising.

She alleged that Rainbow House’s board of directors is misleading the community about who authorized the construction’s commencement, what happened to the money, why the emergency shelter was shut down and how the property ended up in the hands of the contracted construction company.

“I saw the writing on the wall. I knew that the blame was going to be placed on me because, well, somebody wanted a scapegoat,” she said.

Faurot also confirmed that the ongoing state investigation of Rainbow House is being facilitated by the Missouri Department of Social Services.

Kathy Hughes founded Rainbow House in 1986. As an experienced foster parent and pediatric nurse, Hughes saw the need to provide children in short-term foster care with more stability.

Her family was fostering one child in particular who had been placed in emergency foster care and was being moved from house to house. After the child had been placed in her fifth school in three weeks, Hughes realized that the system was not serving children in the way that it should have upon initial intake.

“The system (was) doing her more harm than her father beating her did,” Hughes said. “The bruises were starting to heal, but we were making her feel like it was her fault and that she was being punished.”

Hughes started dreaming of a place where children who had experienced abuse or neglect could stay more permanently until the legal system reached a verdict on their futures, whether that’s returning home or being placed into long-term foster care.

She consulted different local government entities but settled on the reality that her vision of a physical home-like space devoted to this mission had to be established independently. Hughes found a “big old farmhouse” in Columbia with the capacity for up to 12 children, and with a loan, she purchased the property.

After nine months of renovations and preparation, Hughes was ready to open the doors of the emergency shelter. But when she was preparing to finally welcome children to the farmhouse on Oakland Gravel Road, she couldn’t decide on a name to give it — until she watched a storm pass and give way to a rainbow.

“We never see rainbows, except when we’ve just had a storm,” she said. “It all just kind of clicked. Here’s a place where children come after a storm, and we’re giving them a rainbow.”

From that day forward, the shelter was to be called Rainbow House.

Before it even had the proper licensing from the state, Rainbow House had eight kids to care for. The staff members at Rainbow House were issued a temporary license so they could take the children the very night law enforcement picked them up from an emergency situation.

“We hit the ground running,” Hughes said.

Hughes quit her job as a school nurse and became the emergency shelter’s executive director. She hired a handful of house parents, live-in staff members and recruited volunteers to fulfill the rest of the operation’s needs.

In the early years, Hughes led with the goal of having every child at Rainbow House remain in the school they were already enrolled in. The shelter’s staff drove the children to school in a donated van every morning. Rainbow House had immediate support from local schools and community members, Hughes said.

Hughes remained as Rainbow House’s executive director for three years. However, she said she has not had a hands-on relationship with the organization in the past few years, partly because “things seem to have been going quite smoothly, until very recently.”

She heard about the emergency shelter shutting down when a friend called to ask her about it and sent her a news article detailing the event.

“I’m as curious as everybody else as to what the heck happened,” Hughes said.

Rainbow House has historically had two arms: The Rainbow House Children’s Emergency Shelter and the Rainbow House Regional Child Advocacy Center. Until its closure, the emergency shelter temporarily housed children in foster care or facing homelessness and assisted parents who requested placement for their children during crisis, according to the organization’s website. The child advocacy center provides forensic interviewing, advocacy and therapy for children who have been sexually or severely physically abused.

Although the shelter was Hughes’ first priority, the advocacy center was always part of the blueprint, she said. The center was built under one of Hughes’ successors across the street from the original emergency shelter.

“(The child advocacy center meant) that kids did not have to go to the emergency room to get forensic exams. They didn’t have to go to the police station to tell their story. They came to some place that felt much safer,” Hughes said.

In the new space, the advocacy center’s interviewing capabilities became more advanced. Hughes said the organization was able to videotape interviews with children, meaning questions that would have been asked to them in court could be asked in a more comfortable space, and then presented in court. This limited children having to testify in-person, which Hughes said was “huge.”

The advocacy center and the emergency shelter have always been housed under the same umbrella organization, Rainbow House. Hughes said that this decision was in the best interest of the children Rainbow House served.

Both the emergency shelter and the advocacy center moved to a joint facility on Towne Drive in 2004.

In addition to fundraising, Rainbow House has also benefitted from state funding for its emergency shelter through the state’s crisis care and foster care programs. Additionally, the child advocacy center is funded with federal money, from the Victims of Crime Act, and state money.

Rainbow House’s operations come to an endAt the time of the shelter’s shutdown this fall, Rainbow House was in the middle of a multimillion-dollar expansion. The organization was in the process of completing a new wing that would double the emergency shelter’s capacity.

While renovations were underway, the shelter’s operations were moved to a temporary location. Tyler Willy, president of Rainbow House’s board of directors, estimated that the shelter was serving five to seven children on any given day in its last few weeks of operation.

During this time, however, Rainbow House was only doing daytime services in a holding location, so there were no children spending the night and therefore none displaced, Willy said.

The shelter’s last day of accepting children was Sept. 27. The organization’s advocacy center has remained open, also in a temporary location while its permanent facility was being renovated, but a new partnership has stepped in to fill the void left by Rainbow House’s reduction of child advocacy center services.

Though it seemed like Rainbow House initially planned to keep its Regional Child Advocacy Center open, a new one will replace it. Missouri Network Against Child Abuse, a state agency representing all of Missouri’s child advocacy centers, has contracted with Partner for Better, a company that helps grow nonprofits and foundations, to open a new child advocacy center in Columbia.

Rainbow House’s Regional Child Advocacy Center will remain open until the new center, which will be called the Child Advocacy Center of Central Missouri, is established. The Boone County Commission approved the new center’s contract last week.

Having a child advocacy center in Boone County is statutorily mandated, and once the transition to the new center is complete, state and federal funds already allocated to Rainbow House will be transferred to the new organization.

This process is expected to take nine months to a year to complete, and no location for the new center has been set.

In 2022, Rainbow House launched a capital campaign in efforts to raise money for an expansion to its Towne Drive facility, despite staffing shortages.

The “Rebuild Our Rainbow” campaign had a fundraising goal of $2.6 million — the price of the slated renovations. Rainbow House received a $1.1 million contribution from the Veterans United Foundation in November 2021. The nonprofit was hoping to raise another $1.5 million.

However, Rainbow House never raised half of the total amount needed for the renovations.

The capital campaign has raised a total of $1,214,000, according to Rainbow House’s website — just 46% of the initial goal. When disregarding the Veterans United Foundation contribution, this leaves a total of just over $100,000 raised by outside sources.

The planned expansion to Rainbow House’s shelter was significant. It included adding a new wing that would double the shelter’s capacity from 18 children to 36, and it would allow the shelter to have separate living facilities for boys and girls, among other improvements. The advocacy center portion of the facility was also set to receive renovations.

Doubling the shelter’s capacity may have been a lofty goal for Rainbow House, as the facility reported staffing shortages in early 2022, just weeks before announcing the capital campaign, according to previous Missourian reporting. Because the shelter was required to maintain a specific ratio of youth specialists to children, the shelter had to limit the number of children it served at the time.

The shelter didn’t have enough staff to provide for every child in need, Faurot told the Missourian at the time. Nonetheless, plans to double the capacity of the shelter, and consequently the number of staff members needed, commenced.

Rainbow House may have jumped the gun on actually starting the renovations too. Renovations began in October 2023, according to Rainbow House’s website. Yet the funding goal had not been achieved at the time.

Dan Reynolds — president and owner of Holmes, Radford and Reynolds, a firm that specializes in capital campaign management — said nonprofits that embark on capital campaigns should ensure they have most of the funding needed before commencing construction.

“I think it’s best practice to secure upwards of 75-80% of those commitments and pledges before embarking on construction activities,” Reynolds said.

Rainbow House authorized construction with less than half of the money needed to complete construction. But there are conflicting accounts of who actually authorized this construction, which ultimately may have led to the shutdown of the shelter.

When Rainbow House announced the closure of its emergency shelter on Sept. 25, it simultaneously announced that the organization was signing over the shelter property to Little Dixie Construction, the company that had been working on the expansion. This decision was made to help alleviate “financial distress,” according to a news release.

John States, a managing partner at Little Dixie Construction, formed a new company, Towne Drive Investments LLC, on Aug. 22, according to Missouri secretary of state records. This new company then took ownership of the Rainbow House facility on Aug. 30.

The property would soon be put up for sale for over $3.5 million.

States did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Upon closure of the emergency shelter, Rainbow House said that it was “placed in a financially unsustainable position” after “high-level decisions” were made outside of guidelines approved by its board of directors, according to previous Missourian reporting. The nature of these “high-level decisions” remains unknown.

In late September, Willy, the board president, said the state launched an investigation into Rainbow House for “internal misallocation of funds.” He said that he could not speak on whether the state investigation is focused on the advocacy center, the emergency shelter or both.

Willy said the only person with access to the funds under investigation was terminated from Rainbow House in August. Willy was presumably referring to Faurot, and Faurot said “everybody knows he was making the assumption it was me.”

Faurot referred to Willy’s claims as inaccurate.

“For him to say out loud … that I was the only one that had access to the funds shows how little he knows about the organization,” she said.

Any expenditure over $5,000 had to be approved by Rainbow House’s board of directors, Faurot said, meaning that she did not have the power to authorize the start of the expansion project, and therefore could not have been responsible for the financial wrongdoing that the board has been claiming.

Willy said that when he joined the board of directors, the construction had already been authorized. All other current board members also joined after the expansion was already authorized, he said.

“None of us voted on the construction,” he said, referring to the board of directors.

Faurot said the board approved the start of construction for the expansion, and the construction company broke ground in October 2023. By late spring of 2024, funding for the project was dwindling, she said.

When the financial situation reached a dire point, the board of directors discussed signing the building over to Little Dixie Construction, Faurot said, which she was adamantly opposed to. The construction was only halfway completed, and Rainbow House owed money to Little Dixie Construction to finish the project, yet the capital campaign money had run out, Faurot said.

“I told (the board), in my opinion, if they chose to do that, that it would be the end of Rainbow House,” she said.

Faurot was then terminated by the board of directors shortly before the plans for transferring ownership of the building were finalized, she said.

Richie Vanskike, Rainbow House’s director of development from 2019 to 2022, said part of the capital campaign was his responsibility. When the plans for the renovations were drawn, the goal was to expand the facility but avoid walking away in debt, he said.

The start of construction was authorized with the hope that the rest of the money needed would come in, but the outreach efforts weren’t there, Vanskike said, though he had left the organization prior to this time. He said the staff positions related to marketing and reaching out to the community to raise funds were not filled at the time, so the additional money was never secured.

Vanskike added that toward the end of the shelter’s run, he doubts there were any volunteers working at the facility, as there “wasn’t anyone to facilitate that.” The volunteer coordinator position, which Rainbow House had in the past to facilitate background checks and organize volunteering, wasn’t filled or didn’t exist anymore, he said.

“I don’t know what happened to (the volunteer coordinator position). To tell you the truth, it is kind of like all the positions there,” he said. “Those positions … they seem to have been just kind of done away with.”

Several sources concurred that Rainbow House was facing staffing shortages at various points.

What was formerly Rainbow House’s facility on Towne Drive has been put up for sale for over $3.5 million, according to several real estate websites. The building’s identifying “Rainbow House” sign has been stripped from above its door, and the sale of the facility is currently pending.

While the state-supervised Child Advocacy Center of Central Missouri may see a revival under Partner For Better’s leadership, the future of children’s emergency shelters in mid-Missouri remains up in the air.

Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries is an organization that aims to provide safe homes for children in foster care in mid-Missouri. It has tried to partner with Rainbow House in the past to bridge the gap between emergency care and long-term foster care for children, said Kari Hopkins, Coyote Hill’s chief operating officer. A lot of the children that were served by Rainbow House could potentially have ended up in a Coyote Hill home for more long-term care, Hopkins said.

But Rainbow House was not interested in the partnership when discussions were had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hopkins said, and the organization cited that it wanted to remain focused on existing services.

She said the community is devastated by the emergency shelter’s closure, and Coyote Hill is currently in early conversations with the state regarding how the organization could help fill the void of emergency placement and temporary care for children, in hopes of keeping families together and preventing children from needing foster care in the first place.

“The people who hurt the most are our kids, and that is not easy for us in this world of foster care,” Hopkins said.

Willy told the Missourian that Rainbow House’s board of directors also plans to open a new emergency shelter, and they have identified a group that would run its operations.

He said the board will soon be asking for funding to help the new shelter get off the ground. The shelter will not be located at Rainbow House’s former location, Willy added.

Hughes hopes that the community will rally together to address the ongoing need for emergency services for children.

“Child abuse continues,” Hughes said. “Child neglect continues. Family crisis continues.”

This story originally appeared in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/what-went-wrong-at-rainbow-house-the-now-closed-childrens-emergency-shelter/article_a8100bb8-8463-11ef-bdb7-5766a3cb6cbb.html#tncms-source=Top%20Story" target="_blank">Columbia Missourian.</a>&nbsp;It can be republished in print or online.&nbsp;

Closure of children’s emergency shelter in Columbia under investigation by Missouri regulators

(Radio Iowa) -&nbsp;Triple-A Iowa spokesman, Brian Ortner says the Thanksgiving holiday travel forecast is showing projected all-time highs for travel nationally and within our region. 

The west north-central region includes Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, and South Dakota, along with Iowa. Ortner says travel will surpass what we saw prior to the pandemic. 

There were about six-point-three million total travelers back in 2019 and it's projects at six-point-four this year across the region

(Radio Iowa) -&nbsp;Triple-A Iowa spokesman, Brian Ortner says the Thanksgiving holiday travel forecast is showing projected all-time highs for travel nationally and within our region. The west north-central region includes Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, and South Dakota, along with Iowa. Ortner says travel will surpass what we saw prior to the pandemic. There were about six-point-three million total travelers back in 2019 and it's projects at six-point-four this year across the region

Thanksgiving Travel Expected To Set Record

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow spoke on the Senate floor and introduced the “Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act.” She says for more than two years, she’s been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass her sixth farm bill. “The farmers I met with made clear that the farm safety net must be the backbone of support for all farmers, and not just a handful of mostly southern commodities,” she said. 

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow spoke on the Senate floor and introduced the “Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act.” She says for more than two years, she’s been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass her sixth farm bill. “The farmers I met with made clear that the farm safety net must be the backbone of support for all farmers, and not just a handful of mostly southern commodities,” she said.

Stabenow releases version of the Senate farm bill

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>

WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina led a charge Monday to try to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings, following the election of a transgender lawmaker.

The move, which the House Democratic leader characterized as attempting to “bully” another member, came as Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware will soon be sworn in as the&nbsp;<a href="https://lailluminator.com/2024/08/21/transgender-congress/" target="_blank">first openly transgender member&nbsp;</a>of Congress. Republicans also have undertaken broader efforts to bar transgender people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.

“Biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces,” Mace wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepNancyMace/status/1858659671910817924" target="_blank">post on X</a>&nbsp;alongside the resolution she is pushing. “Period. Full stop. End of story.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hres1579/BILLS-118hres1579ih.pdf" target="_blank">resolution would prohibit</a>&nbsp;members of Congress, officers and employees of the House from using “single-sex facilities” other than those corresponding to their “biological sex.”

It reads: “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not use a single-sex facility (including a restroom, changing&nbsp; room, or locker room) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings, other than those corresponding to the biological sex of such individual.”

The House sergeant-at-arms would be tasked with enforcement, according to the resolution, so it appears it would apply only to bathrooms on the House side of the Capitol and not the Senate.

Mace told the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/1403136/exclusive-rep-nancy-mace-on-why-she-supports-lgbt-rights-religious-liberty-compromise-legislation/" target="_blank">Washington Examiner</a>&nbsp;in 2021 that she strongly supports LGBTQ rights and equality and said “no one should be discriminated against.”

The South Carolina Republican co-sponsored a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1440/text" target="_blank">Republican alternative</a>&nbsp;to the&nbsp; Democratic-backed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5/cosponsors" target="_blank">Equality Act</a>&nbsp;in 2021. The GOP effort sought to “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and to protect the free exercise of religion.”&nbsp;

In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SarahEMcBride/status/1858671704718868652" target="_blank">post on X</a>&nbsp;Monday appearing to respond to Mace’s push, McBride said “every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness.”

“This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing,” McBride added.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Mace’s resolution “doesn’t go far enough” and “we need something more binding” while speaking to reporters Tuesday.

The Georgia Republican, who referred to McBride as a “biological man,” said “America’s fed up with the trans ideology being shoved into our face.”

Greene said she asked U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson at the House GOP conference meeting Tuesday “what the men in our leadership are going to do about this, because this has to be stopped.”

According to Greene, the Louisiana Republican committed to her that McBride “will not be using our restrooms.”

However, at a Tuesday press conference following that GOP meeting, Johnson would not specify how he would respond to Mace’s resolution.

“This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before,” Johnson said, while also noting that “it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect.”

“We’ll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress,” he added.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries questioned House Republicans’ priorities Tuesday regarding Mace’s effort.

“This is your priority — that you want to bully a member of Congress as opposed to welcoming her to join this body so that all of us can work together to get things done and deliver real results for the American people?” said the New York Democrat at a Tuesday news conference.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732047919198.png" alt="Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Delaware will become the first openly transgender member of Congress-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Delaware will become the first openly transgender member of Congress-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a>WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina led a charge Monday to try to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings, following the election of a transgender lawmaker.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I never thought we would need a sign for this, but women&#39;s restrooms are for BIOLOGICAL women. Not men. <a href="https://t.co/42lOMhqHFT">pic.twitter.com/42lOMhqHFT</a>&mdash; Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepNancyMace/status/1858997448418496978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The move, which the House Democratic leader characterized as attempting to “bully” another member, came as Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware will soon be sworn in as the&nbsp;<a href="https://lailluminator.com/2024/08/21/transgender-congress/" target="_blank">first openly transgender member&nbsp;</a>of Congress. Republicans also have undertaken broader efforts to bar transgender people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces. Period. Full stop. End of story. <a href="https://t.co/IhR7kExkBU">pic.twitter.com/IhR7kExkBU</a>&mdash; Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepNancyMace/status/1858659671910817924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces,” Mace wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepNancyMace/status/1858659671910817924" target="_blank">post on X</a>&nbsp;alongside the resolution she is pushing. “Period. Full stop. End of story.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Q: &quot;Is freshman-elect Sarah McBride a man or a woman?&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerJohnson</a>: &quot;Look, I’m not going to get into this...We treat all persons with dignity and respect. We will. I&#39;m not going to engage is silly debates about this. There&#39;s a concern about uses of restroom facilities...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fMtlV3hYxW">pic.twitter.com/fMtlV3hYxW</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1858904341718958328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hres1579/BILLS-118hres1579ih.pdf" target="_blank">resolution would prohibit</a>&nbsp;members of Congress, officers and employees of the House from using “single-sex facilities” other than those corresponding to their “biological sex.”It reads: “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not use a single-sex facility (including a restroom, changing&nbsp; room, or locker room) in the Capitol or House Office Buildings, other than those corresponding to the biological sex of such individual.”The House sergeant-at-arms would be tasked with enforcement, according to the resolution, so it appears it would apply only to bathrooms on the House side of the Capitol and not the Senate.Mace told the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/1403136/exclusive-rep-nancy-mace-on-why-she-supports-lgbt-rights-religious-liberty-compromise-legislation/" target="_blank">Washington Examiner</a>&nbsp;in 2021 that she strongly supports LGBTQ rights and equality and said “no one should be discriminated against.”The South Carolina Republican co-sponsored a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1440/text" target="_blank">Republican alternative</a>&nbsp;to the&nbsp; Democratic-backed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5/cosponsors" target="_blank">Equality Act</a>&nbsp;in 2021. The GOP effort sought to “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and to protect the free exercise of religion.”&nbsp;In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SarahEMcBride/status/1858671704718868652" target="_blank">post on X</a>&nbsp;Monday appearing to respond to Mace’s push, McBride said “every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness.”“This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing,” McBride added.Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Mace’s resolution “doesn’t go far enough” and “we need something more binding” while speaking to reporters Tuesday.The Georgia Republican, who referred to McBride as a “biological man,” said “America’s fed up with the trans ideology being shoved into our face.”Greene said she asked U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson at the House GOP conference meeting Tuesday “what the men in our leadership are going to do about this, because this has to be stopped.”According to Greene, the Louisiana Republican committed to her that McBride “will not be using our restrooms.”However, at a Tuesday press conference following that GOP meeting, Johnson would not specify how he would respond to Mace’s resolution.“This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before,” Johnson said, while also noting that “it’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect.”“We’ll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress,” he added.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries questioned House Republicans’ priorities Tuesday regarding Mace’s effort.“This is your priority — that you want to bully a member of Congress as opposed to welcoming her to join this body so that all of us can work together to get things done and deliver real results for the American people?” said the New York Democrat at a Tuesday news conference.&nbsp;

U.S. House GOP urged to bar transgender women from using women’s bathrooms at the Capitol

(Radio Iowa) - Federal regulators say the Iowa Department of Natural Resources should add half a dozen river segments to the state’s 2024 list of impaired waterways. 

The E-P-A says nitrate levels in sections of the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa, Raccoon and South Skunk Rivers exceeded safe drinking water standards. States are required to submit a list of impaired waters to the E-P-A for review every two years. It’s the first step in developing a plan to cut pollution. 

Iowa has nearly 600 impaired water segments with the E-P-A’s additions. The agency is accepting public comments on the segments through December 13th. The D-N-R says it's reviewing the E-P-A's response and declined further comment.

(Radio Iowa) - Federal regulators say the Iowa Department of Natural Resources should add half a dozen river segments to the state’s 2024 list of impaired waterways. The E-P-A says nitrate levels in sections of the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa, Raccoon and South Skunk Rivers exceeded safe drinking water standards. States are required to submit a list of impaired waters to the E-P-A for review every two years. It’s the first step in developing a plan to cut pollution. Iowa has nearly 600 impaired water segments with the E-P-A’s additions. The agency is accepting public comments on the segments through December 13th. The D-N-R says it's reviewing the E-P-A's response and declined further comment.

EPA says more Iowa river segments are impaired due to high nitrate levels

That violent, deadly crash that shut down I-29 in extreme
northwest Missouri for hours Sunday morning began as a pursuit by Nebraska law
enforcement.

Three people died, three suffered serious injuries, and a
one-year-old escaped serious injury after the driver fleeing police hit a
bridge abutment and the car caught fire.

The Fremont County, Iowa Sheriff’s Department says a woman hospitalized
in Hamburg reported she and her one-year-old were kidnapped by a 29-year-old
acquaintance, who dropped her off at the hospital, but fled with the child.

Iowa state highway patrol troopers pursued the vehicle as it
drove south on I-29 in the northbound lanes. When the car entered Missouri, it
collided with a northbound car attempting to pass a truck. The pursued car hit
the bridge and caught fire. The other vehicle veered off the road, overturned,
ejected a passenger, and came to rest on its top.

A veteran deputy rescued the one-year-old from the burning
car. The baby was taken to the hospital to be treated for moderate injuries.
Two 18-year-olds from Kearney died in the crash. Another person was flown to
Omaha to be treated for serious injuries.

You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostThat violent, deadly crash that shut down I-29 in extreme
northwest Missouri for hours Sunday morning began as a pursuit by Nebraska law
enforcement.Three people died, three suffered serious injuries, and a
one-year-old escaped serious injury after the driver fleeing police hit a
bridge abutment and the car caught fire.The Fremont County, Iowa Sheriff’s Department says a woman hospitalized
in Hamburg reported she and her one-year-old were kidnapped by a 29-year-old
acquaintance, who dropped her off at the hospital, but fled with the child.Iowa state highway patrol troopers pursued the vehicle as it
drove south on I-29 in the northbound lanes. When the car entered Missouri, it
collided with a northbound car attempting to pass a truck. The pursued car hit
the bridge and caught fire. The other vehicle veered off the road, overturned,
ejected a passenger, and came to rest on its top.A veteran deputy rescued the one-year-old from the burning
car. The baby was taken to the hospital to be treated for moderate injuries.
Two 18-year-olds from Kearney died in the crash. Another person was flown to
Omaha to be treated for serious injuries.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Deadly I-29 crash in extreme NW Missouri began as Nebraska pursuit

The Kansas City Royals added three players to their 40 man roster on Tuesday, ahead of the deadline to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 draft.&nbsp;

If Rule 5-eligible players -- those who signed at age 18 or younger five seasons ago or who signed at age 19 or older four seasons ago -- are not added to teams’ 40-man rosters, they are exposed to be taken in the Rule 5 Draft next month.

Left-hander Noah Cameron, ranked the Royals’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and righties Luinder Avila (No. 26) and Eric Cerantola (No. 29) were placed the roster on Tuesday. Kansas City's roster now sits at 37 players, with a few spots open for the offseason upgrades the Royals are trying to make.

Cameron knocked on the door of making his major league debut last season, had the Royals not been in the postseason race late.&nbsp; The left handed pitcher posted a 3.08 ERA across 128.2 innings between Triple A Omaha and Double A Northwest Arkansas.&nbsp;

It was his nine starts in Omaha that were the most impressive, going 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA and striking out 62 batters, a 29% strikeout rate to go with a 5.1% walk rate.&nbsp;

The Royals drafted Cameron in the seventh round in 2021 out of Central Arkansas. He was coming off of Tommy John surgery that year and has missed time with injuries early in his pro career, but he’s been remarkably consistent with his production otherwise. He thrives off his command and fills up the strike zone. He’ll compete for a spot on the Royals’ pitching staff in Spring Training, but he’s part of the depth that the Royals are excited about in 2025.

Avila, whose 23 years old, just finished a stint in the Arizona Fall League, making up for some innings he missed because of injury this past season. In 14 2/3 innings across five games (three starts) this fall, Avila posted a 3.07 ERA, with 17 strikeouts and eight walks. 

He spent the majority of ‘24 in Double-A, making just one start in Triple-A at the end of the year. With the Naturals, Avila threw 82 2/3 innings across 19 starts and posted a 3.81 ERA.

Cerantola, 24 years old, has a big arm that can reach 100 mph. He pitched to a 2.97 ERA and had a strikeout percentage north of 31% this year across Double-A and Triple-A, spending the majority of the year in Northwest Arkansas, where he allowed 18 earned runs in 58 1/3 innings.

 In Triple-A at the end of the year, he posted a 3.77 ERA. He appeared in 37 games total (seven starts) and is seen as a multi-inning reliever.

At the Rule 5 Draft, teams that do pick a player must pay $100,000 to the club from which the player was selected. The selected player is assigned to the club’s 26-man roster and is essentially treated like a player without options –-- to be removed from the 40-man roster, they must be placed on outright waivers and exposed to other teams to claim.

 Should the player clear waivers, he can be offered back to his previous team for $50,000. A Rule 5 Draft pick can be placed on the injured list, but he must be active for a minimum of 90 days to avoid being subject to the aforementioned roster restrictions in the next campaign.

The Royals selected Yankees righty Matt Sauer last December, and he made his debut with Kansas City in 2024. But by May the Royals needed the roster spot, and Sauer went back to New York.

-MLB.com's Anne Rogers contributed to this report

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1724357942438.jpeg" alt="Noah Cameron/ Photo courtesy of the Omaha Stormchasers.jpg" />
 <figcaption>Noah Cameron/ Photo courtesy of the Omaha Stormchasers.jpg</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKESt. Joseph PostThe Kansas City Royals added three players to their 40 man roster on Tuesday, ahead of the deadline to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 draft.&nbsp;If Rule 5-eligible players -- those who signed at age 18 or younger five seasons ago or who signed at age 19 or older four seasons ago -- are not added to teams’ 40-man rosters, they are exposed to be taken in the Rule 5 Draft next month.Left-hander Noah Cameron, ranked the Royals’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and righties Luinder Avila (No. 26) and Eric Cerantola (No. 29) were placed the roster on Tuesday. Kansas City's roster now sits at 37 players, with a few spots open for the offseason upgrades the Royals are trying to make.Cameron knocked on the door of making his major league debut last season, had the Royals not been in the postseason race late.&nbsp; The left handed pitcher posted a 3.08 ERA across 128.2 innings between Triple A Omaha and Double A Northwest Arkansas.&nbsp;It was his nine starts in Omaha that were the most impressive, going 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA and striking out 62 batters, a 29% strikeout rate to go with a 5.1% walk rate.&nbsp;The Royals drafted Cameron in the seventh round in 2021 out of Central Arkansas. He was coming off of Tommy John surgery that year and has missed time with injuries early in his pro career, but he’s been remarkably consistent with his production otherwise. He thrives off his command and fills up the strike zone. He’ll compete for a spot on the Royals’ pitching staff in Spring Training, but he’s part of the depth that the Royals are excited about in 2025.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732081179292.jpeg" alt="Luinder Avila/ Photo courtesy of Omaha Stormchasers" />
 <figcaption>Luinder Avila/ Photo courtesy of Omaha Stormchasers</figcaption>
 </figure>Avila, whose 23 years old, just finished a stint in the Arizona Fall League, making up for some innings he missed because of injury this past season. In 14 2/3 innings across five games (three starts) this fall, Avila posted a 3.07 ERA, with 17 strikeouts and eight walks. He spent the majority of ‘24 in Double-A, making just one start in Triple-A at the end of the year. With the Naturals, Avila threw 82 2/3 innings across 19 starts and posted a 3.81 ERA.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732081270820.jpeg" alt="Eric Cerantola/ Photo courtesy of the Omaha Stormchasers" />
 <figcaption>Eric Cerantola/ Photo courtesy of the Omaha Stormchasers</figcaption>
 </figure>Cerantola, 24 years old, has a big arm that can reach 100 mph. He pitched to a 2.97 ERA and had a strikeout percentage north of 31% this year across Double-A and Triple-A, spending the majority of the year in Northwest Arkansas, where he allowed 18 earned runs in 58 1/3 innings. In Triple-A at the end of the year, he posted a 3.77 ERA. He appeared in 37 games total (seven starts) and is seen as a multi-inning reliever.At the Rule 5 Draft, teams that do pick a player must pay $100,000 to the club from which the player was selected. The selected player is assigned to the club’s 26-man roster and is essentially treated like a player without options –-- to be removed from the 40-man roster, they must be placed on outright waivers and exposed to other teams to claim. Should the player clear waivers, he can be offered back to his previous team for $50,000. A Rule 5 Draft pick can be placed on the injured list, but he must be active for a minimum of 90 days to avoid being subject to the aforementioned roster restrictions in the next campaign.The Royals selected Yankees righty Matt Sauer last December, and he made his debut with Kansas City in 2024. But by May the Royals needed the roster spot, and Sauer went back to New York.-MLB.com's Anne Rogers contributed to this reportYou can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Royals protect Noah Cameron, two other top prospects from Rule 5 draft

Northwest Missouri State University has announced that there will be a leadership change for the football program next season.&nbsp;

Head Coach Rich Wright's contract will not be renewed, effective December 31st, after serving as head coach for eight seasons.&nbsp; Northwest closed out the season with a 23-7 loss to Pittsburg State, leaving the final record at 6-5 overall, 6-4 in the MIAA.

Athletic Director Andy Peterson says a national search for the next head coach will begin immediately.&nbsp; In the interim, Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach Chad Bostwick will serve as the interim head coach.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629154053586.jpeg" alt="Rich Wright / File photo" />
 <figcaption>Rich Wright / File photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKESt. Joseph PostNorthwest Missouri State University has announced that there will be a leadership change for the football program next season.&nbsp;Head Coach Rich Wright's contract will not be renewed, effective December 31st, after serving as head coach for eight seasons.&nbsp; Northwest closed out the season with a 23-7 loss to Pittsburg State, leaving the final record at 6-5 overall, 6-4 in the MIAA.Athletic Director Andy Peterson says a national search for the next head coach will begin immediately.&nbsp; In the interim, Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach Chad Bostwick will serve as the interim head coach.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Northwest football announces leadership change, Rich Wright out

(Radio Iowa) - A report shows a state pilot program raised the number of children who could enroll in childcare services in select communities, which improved wages and benefits for local childcare workers. 

The “Iowa Childcare Solutions Fund: A Model for Closing the Childcare Gap” report analyzed the effect the Childcare Solutions Fund had in pilot communities, matching private investments from businesses and individuals with state funding. Iowa Women’s Foundation president and C-E-O Deann Cook says she's proud to see a public-private partnership address the issue. 

The report shows if the pilot program was expanded statewide, it would create eight-thousand new jobs, enable five-thousand more parents and guardians to join the workforce, add 11-thousand childcare slots, and increase Iowa’s gross domestic product by 13-billion dollars.

(Radio Iowa) - A report shows a state pilot program raised the number of children who could enroll in childcare services in select communities, which improved wages and benefits for local childcare workers. The “Iowa Childcare Solutions Fund: A Model for Closing the Childcare Gap” report analyzed the effect the Childcare Solutions Fund had in pilot communities, matching private investments from businesses and individuals with state funding. Iowa Women’s Foundation president and C-E-O Deann Cook says she's proud to see a public-private partnership address the issue. The report shows if the pilot program was expanded statewide, it would create eight-thousand new jobs, enable five-thousand more parents and guardians to join the workforce, add 11-thousand childcare slots, and increase Iowa’s gross domestic product by 13-billion dollars.

Report: Iowa's childcare pilot program boosted kids enrolled, wages for workers

Buchanan County Western District Commissioner Ron Hook had a
longer election watch party than expected.

Hook has won re-election, edging out challenger Everett
Goodard, Jr. by 25 votes after a recount. Hook acknowledges it has been a
stressful week.

“I think it’s more stressful on my family, but you know I like
the outcome,” Hook tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “I’m very humbled by the
outcome. I’m very humbled by the constituents that put their faith in me and
voted for me and got us over the threshold of winning this.”

Initial totals on election night had Hook winning by 23. That
margin, well within one percent, triggered an automatic recount.

After the day-long recount Monday by the Buchanan County Clerk’s
office, Hook, a Democrat, came out on top with 7,869 votes to 7,844 cast for Goddard,
the Republican challenger.

Hook remains one of the few Democrats in the Buchanan County
Courthouse. Hook contends his party affiliation had an effect in the race,
saying he’s disappointed that many Buchanan County voters apparently looked at
the political party after the name rather than the individual on the ballot.

“That’s what’s disappointing,” Hook says. “And I’d feel the
same way whether I lost. It’s just disappointing to know that people go out
there and just vote for a party and not vote for a person.”

Unofficial results released by the Buchanan County Clerk’s
office show Republicans received big majorities from county voters on the 5th.
President-elect Donald Trump won nearly 63% of the vote. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley,
a Republican, won more than 60% of the Buchanan County vote. Republican Congressman
Sam Graves received more than 65% of the vote. Buchanan County voters favored
Republican gubernatorial candidate, Mike Kehoe, with nearly 64% of the vote.

Hook, who has served as Western District Commissioner since 2009,
barely won re-election to another four-year term over a political newcomer.
Still, win re-election he did, if only by 25 votes.

“This job is a great job for somebody that doesn’t like to sit
around,” according to Hook. “There’s always something going. There’s always
something happening. There’s something different every day. And I’ll tell you
what it’s something that I’ve just cherished, I really have.”

Hook says he enjoys who he works with in the courthouse and
enjoys who works for him in the Western District.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732046000824.jpeg" alt="Buchanan County Western District Commissioner Ron Hook (left) participates in a St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce candidate forum with challenge Everett Goddard, Jr./file photo" />
 <figcaption>Buchanan County Western District Commissioner Ron Hook (left) participates in a St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce candidate forum with challenge Everett Goddard, Jr./file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostBuchanan County Western District Commissioner Ron Hook had a
longer election watch party than expected.It lasted a week.Hook has won re-election, edging out challenger Everett
Goodard, Jr. by 25 votes after a recount. Hook acknowledges it has been a
stressful week.“I think it’s more stressful on my family, but you know I like
the outcome,” Hook tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “I’m very humbled by the
outcome. I’m very humbled by the constituents that put their faith in me and
voted for me and got us over the threshold of winning this.”Initial totals on election night had Hook winning by 23. That
margin, well within one percent, triggered an automatic recount.After the day-long recount Monday by the Buchanan County Clerk’s
office, Hook, a Democrat, came out on top with 7,869 votes to 7,844 cast for Goddard,
the Republican challenger.Hook remains one of the few Democrats in the Buchanan County
Courthouse. Hook contends his party affiliation had an effect in the race,
saying he’s disappointed that many Buchanan County voters apparently looked at
the political party after the name rather than the individual on the ballot.“That’s what’s disappointing,” Hook says. “And I’d feel the
same way whether I lost. It’s just disappointing to know that people go out
there and just vote for a party and not vote for a person.”Unofficial results released by the Buchanan County Clerk’s
office show Republicans received big majorities from county voters on the 5th.
President-elect Donald Trump won nearly 63% of the vote. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley,
a Republican, won more than 60% of the Buchanan County vote. Republican Congressman
Sam Graves received more than 65% of the vote. Buchanan County voters favored
Republican gubernatorial candidate, Mike Kehoe, with nearly 64% of the vote.Hook, who has served as Western District Commissioner since 2009,
barely won re-election to another four-year term over a political newcomer.
Still, win re-election he did, if only by 25 votes.Hook says he has enjoyed the job.“This job is a great job for somebody that doesn’t like to sit
around,” according to Hook. “There’s always something going. There’s always
something happening. There’s something different every day. And I’ll tell you
what it’s something that I’ve just cherished, I really have.”Hook says he enjoys who he works with in the courthouse and
enjoys who works for him in the Western District.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Commissioner Hook has to wait through recount to celebrate re-election

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>

President-elect Donald Trump tapped two Missouri members of the legal team for jobs in the new administration, naming D. John Sauer solicitor general and Will Scharf assistant to the president and White House staff secretary.

Sauer, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, was Missouri solicitor general from 2017 through 2022 under Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. In that job, he led Missouri’s unsuccessful effort alongside other GOP attorneys general to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/subscriber/messenger-who-provided-the-legal-fuel-for-the-insurrection-missouri-attorney-general-eric-schmitt/article_8d4280f8-95cf-5c6e-a328-4265a70669f7.html" target="_blank">keep Trump in power by challenging the 2020 election results</a>.&nbsp;

More recently, Sauer successfully represented Trump at the U.S. Supreme Court in his bid for immunity from being criminally charged for trying to overturn the 2020 election. The justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines in July to give Trump immunity from some official acts he took as president.

As solicitor general, Sauer will be responsible for litigating the federal government’s positions at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“He is a legit genius, an incredible lawyer and I’m thrilled for him and his family,” Schmitt&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1857203172831384019" target="_blank">posted on social media</a>.&nbsp;

Scharf, who ran&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/07/19/trumps-lawyer-will-scharf-pegs-bid-for-missouri-ag-on-alleged-jeff-city-corruption/">unsuccessfully against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey</a>&nbsp;in the GOP primary, briefly served in the administration of former Gov. Eric Greitens before moving to Washington, D.C., to work for the advocacy organization Judicial Crisis Network, focused on judicial confirmations and nominations, most notably Justice Brett Kavanaugh.&nbsp;

In 2020, he returned to Missouri to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in St. Louis. Alongside Sauer, Scharf was part of the team advising and defending Trump in his myriad criminal trials over the last year.&nbsp;

In his new job, Scharf will decide which memos, briefings and reports will go to the president and who should weigh in on issues and speeches.

“Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team,” Trump said in announcing Scharf’s appointment, later adding: “Will is going to make us proud as we Make America Great Again.”

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>President-elect Donald Trump tapped two Missouri members of the legal team for jobs in the new administration, naming D. John Sauer solicitor general and Will Scharf assistant to the president and White House staff secretary.Sauer, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, was Missouri solicitor general from 2017 through 2022 under Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. In that job, he led Missouri’s unsuccessful effort alongside other GOP attorneys general to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/subscriber/messenger-who-provided-the-legal-fuel-for-the-insurrection-missouri-attorney-general-eric-schmitt/article_8d4280f8-95cf-5c6e-a328-4265a70669f7.html" target="_blank">keep Trump in power by challenging the 2020 election results</a>.&nbsp;More recently, Sauer successfully represented Trump at the U.S. Supreme Court in his bid for immunity from being criminally charged for trying to overturn the 2020 election. The justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines in July to give Trump immunity from some official acts he took as president.As solicitor general, Sauer will be responsible for litigating the federal government’s positions at the U.S. Supreme Court.“He is a legit genius, an incredible lawyer and I’m thrilled for him and his family,” Schmitt&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1857203172831384019" target="_blank">posted on social media</a>.&nbsp;Scharf, who ran&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/07/19/trumps-lawyer-will-scharf-pegs-bid-for-missouri-ag-on-alleged-jeff-city-corruption/">unsuccessfully against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey</a>&nbsp;in the GOP primary, briefly served in the administration of former Gov. Eric Greitens before moving to Washington, D.C., to work for the advocacy organization Judicial Crisis Network, focused on judicial confirmations and nominations, most notably Justice Brett Kavanaugh.&nbsp;In 2020, he returned to Missouri to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in St. Louis. Alongside Sauer, Scharf was part of the team advising and defending Trump in his myriad criminal trials over the last year.&nbsp;In his new job, Scharf will decide which memos, briefings and reports will go to the president and who should weigh in on issues and speeches.“Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team,” Trump said in announcing Scharf’s appointment, later adding: “Will is going to make us proud as we Make America Great Again.”

Missouri members of Trump legal team score high profile jobs in administration

A long-time observer of the Missouri River believes the Army
Corps of Engineers has begun to change how it manages the river now that the
right pressure has been applied.

Tom Waters of Orrick chairs the Missouri Levees and Drainage
District Association. Waters says change began after governors from Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa joined forces in demanding change.

“Since the 2019 flood, when the governors from four states got
together and told the Corps we’ve got to do something different here, what they’ve
been doing isn’t working,” Waters tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.&nbsp; “And so those four governors coming together
and then eight senators from those states talking to the Corps and saying we’ve
got to move in a different direction. I think the Corps has listened.”

Since the four states banned together to ask for change, the
Corps has been concentrating on points along the Missouri River that
recurrently flood, often called choke points along the river. Floodwaters in
2019 spilled out in the same areas they had in 2011 and 1993, causing widespread
damage to property and crops, disrupting transportation along I-29 and other
major roadways; disrupting lives.

Waters credits officials from the four lower Missouri River
states, who set aside regional interests and together asked the Corps of Engineers
to reexamine its management as well as the flood prevention structures on the
river.

“Isn’t that funny how four governors and eight senators can encourage
the Corps to do a little better job of listening?” Waters jokes. “That’s what’s
happening. They’ve really made a real effort to reach out to stakeholders and to
talk to people and try to find ways to do some positive things. So, I’m
encouraged.”

Waters says the Corps has already made changes to the Kansas
City levees and has launched a feasibility study to address problems in Holt
County, where the Corps is considering setbacks and levee changes at a
particularly troublesome area. Feasibility studies also are underway in
Jefferson City and Brunswick, which have both experienced recurrent flooding.

“It’s a slow, slow process as anything is with the government,”
Waters says. “But we’re going to get there, I think, and things look more
positive now than in the 30 years I’ve been dealing with the river.”

Waters says the efforts have spawned real change, not just
superficial action.

“In my mind, we’re moving forward in a direction that we’re
going to see some positive changes. It’s been 30 years since we’ve seen them talk
about building a new levee or improving levees.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732029603091.jpeg" alt="File photo from 2019 Missouri River flood" />
 <figcaption>File photo from 2019 Missouri River flood</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA long-time observer of the Missouri River believes the Army
Corps of Engineers has begun to change how it manages the river now that the
right pressure has been applied.Tom Waters of Orrick chairs the Missouri Levees and Drainage
District Association. Waters says change began after governors from Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa joined forces in demanding change.“Since the 2019 flood, when the governors from four states got
together and told the Corps we’ve got to do something different here, what they’ve
been doing isn’t working,” Waters tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.&nbsp; “And so those four governors coming together
and then eight senators from those states talking to the Corps and saying we’ve
got to move in a different direction. I think the Corps has listened.”Since the four states banned together to ask for change, the
Corps has been concentrating on points along the Missouri River that
recurrently flood, often called choke points along the river. Floodwaters in
2019 spilled out in the same areas they had in 2011 and 1993, causing widespread
damage to property and crops, disrupting transportation along I-29 and other
major roadways; disrupting lives.Waters credits officials from the four lower Missouri River
states, who set aside regional interests and together asked the Corps of Engineers
to reexamine its management as well as the flood prevention structures on the
river.“Isn’t that funny how four governors and eight senators can encourage
the Corps to do a little better job of listening?” Waters jokes. “That’s what’s
happening. They’ve really made a real effort to reach out to stakeholders and to
talk to people and try to find ways to do some positive things. So, I’m
encouraged.”Waters says the Corps has already made changes to the Kansas
City levees and has launched a feasibility study to address problems in Holt
County, where the Corps is considering setbacks and levee changes at a
particularly troublesome area. Feasibility studies also are underway in
Jefferson City and Brunswick, which have both experienced recurrent flooding.“It’s a slow, slow process as anything is with the government,”
Waters says. “But we’re going to get there, I think, and things look more
positive now than in the 30 years I’ve been dealing with the river.”Waters says the efforts have spawned real change, not just
superficial action.“In my mind, we’re moving forward in a direction that we’re
going to see some positive changes. It’s been 30 years since we’ve seen them talk
about building a new levee or improving levees.”You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Kbct