It’s been another busy week at the Capitol. I’ve got a lot to talk about, so I’ll try to keep my summaries short, and hopefully, interesting.
First, this past week, Current Electric, Inc. of West Plains was officially awarded a 9.4 million dollar grant to help build high-speed broadband infrastructure providing service to an additional 1,500 households in Oregon County. Current Electric, Inc. is a West Plains company owned by the great team of Danny and Stefanie Thomas. Their broadband development service manager is Jake Marcum of West Plains.
Jake is already working on next year’s grant proposal for Howell County. Howell County Presiding Commissioner, Ralph Riggs, and I are committed to getting this done. The installation of high-speed internet technology across the county is a top priority for both of us.
Next, I’ve been working on an amendment to our 2024 budget to help bring more tourism dollars to our area. This amendment, known as the “Greater American Solar Eclipse” matching grant program, was recently approved in the House.
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be passing over southeast Missouri. The area where the moon fully covers the sun in darkness is called the “path of totality,” and next year, the path of totality will darken most of Howell County (including West Plains), before moving northeast and exiting the state over Cape Girardeau County. The shimmering corona (or crown) will be highlighted around the moon’s shadow, and when viewed in past eclipses, the crown was described as being “hauntingly beautiful.” This eclipse will be about 2 minutes longer than the 2017 total solar eclipse which was seen in northern Missouri. Last time, over 20 million people traveled to be within the path of totality when watching the eclipse. This year, across the country, over 50 million people are expected to travel to watch the total eclipse. It will be another 20 years before we can witness the next total solar eclipse passing over the US.
West Plains has already started planning for its April 8 festival and is hoping for a very big turnout. The April 8 eclipse will likely be the single biggest tourism event in Missouri over the next year and will be truly worth seeing. If approved by the Senate, this matching grant will be available to help West Plains and other surrounding communities in promoting this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Another fun tourism event in Missouri starting this year is the Military Trails of Missouri Program that I think many of us will enjoy. In this program, everyone is invited to visit each of the 12 Missouri military museums, memorials, and battlefields, where we can learn more about the state’s rich military history.
At your first stop, you can pick up a special keepsake passport booklet. And at each of the 12 destinations, you will also receive a commemorative coin and a stamp to fill in the passport. The commemorative coins are similar in appearance to challenge coins that many of us collect. If you visit all 12 sites, you also will be awarded a special “Completion Coin.” Traveling to each of the 12 destinations and learning more about our military heroes would make a great vacation. You can find out more about this tourism program by visiting www.mohumanities.org.
I ended my last report writing about how lobbyists were maneuvering to get an amendment added to a veteran’s bill, which, if passed, would legalize for everyone the growth and consumption of psychedelic ”medicinal” mushrooms in this state. It’s good to report that at request of the bill sponsor, HB 1154 has now been sent back to committee from the House floor to fix its many problems. I’ll be tracking the changes made in committee to make sure the bad language is stripped out.
To close this Report, I’ll summarize a public safety bill that I’ve been working on with several law enforcement groups. This bill (HB 1108/1181) was passed out of the Judiciary Committee and will be debated on the House Floor the week of April 10. If HB 1108/1181 is passed into law, it will (in summary): strengthen the sexual offender registration requirements; create a new more serious crime of distribution of illegal drugs that cause serious physical injury or death to the user; create a new crime of stealing and destroying an entire ATM machine; and create an innocence conviction review team managed by the state Office of Prosecution Services. I’ll keep you advised of what happens with the vote on this House bill.
Again, thank you for the ongoing honor of serving as your representative and speaking for your common sense values. If you would like to schedule a specific time to meet locally or at the Capitol, please call Becky at my office at 573-751-1455, or email my office at david.evans@house.mo.gov.
