By MATT PIKE
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields of St. Joseph, that will help benefit Rosecrans Memorial Airport has been signed by Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe
The bill put forward by Shields will help to give the city of St. Joseph greater flexibility to annex property around Rosecrans Memorial Airport without requiring the land between the city limits and the airport to be annexed first. House Bill 2818 handled in the Senate by Sen. Rusty Black of Chillicothe, modifies annexation laws to allow a city with a 71,000 to 79,000 residents that owns an out-of-boundary airport to incorporate the property into its city limits.
Under current Missouri law, cities generally may annex only land that is contiguous and compact with existing boundaries. The new law creates an exception for St. Joseph’s airport, allowing the city to annex the property without first annexing the farmland that separates it from the city limits. According to the Missouri House bill summary, supporters told lawmakers that the bill would avoid the need to exercise eminent domain powers against two local farmers between the city limits and the airport and that it may spur economic growth in St. Joseph.
Shields, St. Joseph City Manager Mike Schumacher, and Richard Jackson testified in support of the bill in April. The committee summary notes that supporters of the bill told lawmakers it may spur economic growth in St. Joseph and allow businesses to occupy buildings the airport plans to vacate.
HB 2818 was approved by the Missouri General Assembly during the 2026 legislative session and is scheduled to take effect August 28th.
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