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GOP presidential debate to air tonight live on 939 the Eagle

August 23, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

939 the Eagle will air live coverage of tonight’s GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee.

The two-hour debate begins at 8 o’clock central time from Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum and will be carried by Fox News and by Fox News Radio. It’s being moderated by Fox News hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier.

Wisconsin has been a crucial battleground state in recent elections, and Milwaukee will host the 2024 GOP national convention.

The Associated Press (AP) reports those GOP presidential candidates expected to be on-stage tonight are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

939 the Eagle “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” co-host Stephanie Bell will be in Milwaukee for tonight’s debate, and will have live reports tomorrow morning on the show. It airs weekdays from 5:30-9 am.

(AUDIO): Missouri Senate leader is not optimistic about sports wagering legislation

May 4, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) addresses Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on January 26, 2023 (file photo courtesy of Dean Morgan at Senate Communications)

Missouri’s Senate President Pro Tem says the Legislature is unlikely to approve sports wagering this session.

The House voted 118-35 in March to approve sports wagering, but a frustrated Pro Tem Caleb Rowden of Columbia says there are roadblocks in the Senate.

“I think the (Missouri) House is going to take another run at trying to find a different mechanism for it. Potentially we still have the same general set of problems in the Senate, which is really just one person. But obviously that person is still there,” Rowden says.

The Associated Press has reported that 33 states and the District of Columbia now offer some form of sports wagering. The House bill from veteran State Rep. Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg) taxes sports betting at ten percent and those revenues would fund public education. There are legislative opponents to sports wagering, including State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville). She warns about compulsive gambling.

During a live interview on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”, Pro Tem Rowden did not sounds optimistic about Senate passage.

“I would say it’s unlikely, not impossible. Nothing is dead until next Friday (May 12) at 6 o’clock. But I think we’re going to have to figure out a different way to get this thing done. It’s frustrating,” says Rowden.

Missouri’s 2023 legislative session ends on Friday May 12 at 6 pm, under the state Constitution.

Representative Houx, the House sponsor, tells 939 the Eagle that Chiefs fans are traveling to Kansas to place bets on NFL games. He says that during the January Chiefs-Bengals playoff game at Arrowhead, about 4,500 attempted bets were made inside Arrowhead and in the parking lot. Representative Houx says that same day in Kansas, there were more than 1.1 million bets made. He says the majority of them were around the Missouri-Kansas state line.

(AUDIO): Missouri sports wagering supporters say bill addresses compulsive gambling

March 24, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres), left, and State Rep. Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg), second from left, address Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on March 23, 2023 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Bipartisan sports wagering legislation is now heading to the Missouri Senate, after being approved by the House on a 118-35 vote.

The 23-page House Bill 556 taxes sports wagering at ten percent. State Rep. Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg) tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that the Show-Me State is losing tax dollars to neighboring states.

“But it’s most the residual tax revenue we’re losing out. When people go to Kansas or Illinois or Iowa, wherever they go and they spend money in those other states, that’s (the) revenue we’re really missing out on. Besides the tax revenue of bet placed,” Representative Houx says.

Gambling opponents like State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) worry about compulsive gambling. Other opponents worry people will gamble their rent money.

“You know I listen to people like Cheri, I listen to Representative Ben Baker from down south (southwest Missouri’s Neosho) and he was concerned about compulsive gambling. We put $500,000 in there (the bill) to make sure that we’re able to protect people if they have problems. On the mobile apps, it’s a self opt-in or opt-out of being able to do it. Once you opt-out, you’re blocked from that account forever”

Representative Houx, who chairs the Missouri House Fiscal Review Committee, tells “Wake Up” that Chiefs fans from Missouri have traveled to Kansas to place bets on NFL games.

“During the Chiefs-Bengals (playoff) game back in January, around Arrowhead (Stadium) alone, just around the parking lot and inside Arrowhead, there were 4,557 bets attempted to be made during that timeframe. That same day in Kansas, there was 1.14 million bets made. (The) majority of them were around the state line of Kansas”

Under the bill, you would have to be at least 21 years old to place bets. Sports wagering would be taxed at ten percent, and the revenues would be placed in the “Gaming Proceeds for Education Fund.”

The Associated Press reports 33 states and the District of Columbia now offer some form of sports wagering.

Click here to listen to the full “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” interview with State Rep. Dan Houx (R-Warrensburg).

Convicted killer executed in Missouri; St. Louis congresswoman calls for ending capitol punishment

January 4, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks at Mizzou in Columbia on August 3, 2022 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

A convicted murderer who raped and killed a woman in 2003 in eastern Missouri’s Earth City has been executed.

Amber McLaughlin, who’s a transgender woman, was known as Scott McLaughlin in 2003. McLaughlin was sentenced to death for raping and killing 45-year-old Beverly Guenther as she left work in Earth City. Prosecutors say Guenther was stabbed to death with a steak knife.

The Associated Press reports it’s believed to be the first execution of a transgender woman in the United States.

Governor Mike Parson (R) rejected a clemency request, saying McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence received multiple examinations. The governor says the victim was stalked and terrorized before the murder.

McLaughlin was executed by lethal injection Tuesday night at the state’s maximum-security prison in Bonne Terre. U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) called for the governor to block the execution, describing the death penalty as cruel and inhumane.

Three dead in St. Louis school shooting (AP)

October 24, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis police say three people are dead after at a shooting a high school Monday morning. Speaking at a news conference, Police Commissioner Michael Sack said the three dead included a woman, a teenage girl and the shooter, described as a man about 20 years old. The shooting just after 9 a.m. at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School forced students to barricade doors and huddle in classroom corners, jump from windows and run out of the building to seek safety. Within minutes, the school was surrounded by dozens of police vehicles.