Columbia Board of Realtors chief executive officer Brian Toohey says new home sales in Boone County are up 16 percent this year, while permits are down 15 percent. He also says existing home sales in Columbia are down 18 percent. Mr. Toohey joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.” Mr. Toohey was born in St. Louis and lived briefly in Atlanta before his family moved back to St. Louis. He earned his degree in political science from Fulton’s Westminster College and earned his MBA at William Woods University in Fulton. Mr. Toohey also tells listeners that more college graduates are staying in the Columbia area:
Columbia man’s fentanyl sentencing highlights Boone County’s increasing fentanyl problem
Federal prosecutors in Kansas City and Jefferson City say Boone County ranks in the top ten among all of Missouri’s 114 counties for fatal overdose deaths.
U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore of Missouri’s Western District released that statistic on Wednesday after a Columbia man pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in the Columbia area.
31-year-old Ryan Knudsen has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison without parole, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and to a gun charge in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. With his guilty plea, Knudsen admits selling fentanyl to customers in Columbia. Court documents indicate law enforcement officers had been tracking Knudsen when he traveled to St. Louis in August 2021. Federal prosecutors say that on his return trip, he left a bag in a light pole at a Kingdom City car wash. Authorities say that bag contained 22 fentanyl capsules. Police later stopped a vehicle that Knudsen was traveling in, and federal prosecutors say he had a bag that contained 384 capsules with 34 grams of fentanyl.
Columbia Police and federal DEA agents were involved in the Knudsen investigation.
U.S. Attorney Moore says Boone County ranks in the top ten of all 114 Missouri counties for fatal overdose deaths. Federal prosecutors say fentanyl and other non-heroin opioids cause a significant majority of those deaths.
(LISTEN): Columbia lawmaker to file semi-automatic and fully automatic gun legislation in January
A well-known Missouri House Democrat intends to pre-file legislation again in December that would prohibit the selling or purchasing of semi-automatic and fully automatic firearms by anyone under the age of 20.
State Rep. David Tyson Smith, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, joined us live in-studio on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri.”
“If you look at some of these tragic shootings whether it be the Uvalde massacre, there was a shooting in Buffalo, New York and even close to home in St. Louis, it was a teenager who went out and lawfully bought an AR-15, several boxes of ammo and then went out and murdered people. I don’t think teenagers need to be doing that. You have to be 21 to buy a handgun, right. So why can a teenager go out and buy an AK-47,” Smith tells listeners.
Representative Smith’s House Bill 208 was referred to the Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee on May 12, which was the 2023 session’s final day in Jefferson City. The bill never received a hearing in the House.
Meantime, Smith says the transgender issue is being used as a “wedge” issue by Republicans in Jefferson City. He says more than 40 percent of his constituents are Republicans.
“They’re not talking about this. People care about roads. You know, there was talk that they’re (MoDOT) going to close exit 128 and a lot of people got upset because that affects a lot of the businesses on the Business Loop,” says Smith.
Representative Smith tells listeners he would like to see the Missouri Legislature focus less on transgender issues and more on issues like transportation, education, election integrity and criminal justice reform. You can hear the full “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” interview with Representative Smith here.
(LISTEN): Boone County commissioners excited about I-70 expansion’s ripple impact
Boone County’s three Democratic commissioners joined Missouri’s GOP governor for this week’s I-70 expansion bill-signing ceremony in Columbia. Boone County Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick says expanding I-70 isn’t partisan.
“This isn’t a Republican or a Democratic issue, this is about leadership. And we’re happy that the governor, that Senator (Lincoln) Hough (of Springfield) and others were willing to step up and really take the lead on this and push it,” Kendrick says.
The bipartisan bill provides $2.8 billion to rebuild and expand I-70 to six lanes from St. Louis to Kansas City. The project will begin in Columbia. Governor Parson predicts the project will be a game-changer for Columbia and for the entire state. Presiding Commissioner Kendrick agrees with the governor.
“Not only the construction of it and what’s that going to mean and you know just the economic impact immediately, the construction happening in our county. But then just long-term and the potential outer roads that can built along I-70. The inbuild, the further development within to the county. This is a great thing for Boone County,” says Kendrick.
Commissioner Kendrick and fellow Boone County commissioners Justin Aldred and Janet Thompson joined the GOP governor at the ceremony. Kendrick, Aldred and Thompson are Democrats.
(LISTEN): Missouri’s governor, state lawmakers say I-70 expansion will boost safety and economic development
A bipartisan group of lawmakers joined Missouri’s governor for Tuesday’s ceremonial bill-signing for the massive I-70 expansion project. The bill provides $2.8 billion to rebuild and expand I-70 to six lanes from St. Louis to Kansas City.
State Rep. Kent Haden (R-Mexico), who chairs the House Healthcare Reform Committee, has lost hospitals in Mexico and in nearby Fulton. He tells 939 the Eagle this project is crucial, saying that if I-70 is clogged, people die. Representative Haden also says the current interstate is dangerous for motorists.
“It was a death trap, it really had to be fixed, had to be fixed. Such a big deal, it’s all of 70 not just the initial discussions of the urban areas. Because it’s a lifeblood. Mexico, we don’t have hospitals, our ambulances all have to come to 70,” Representative Haden says.
GOP State Reps. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) and Tim Taylor (R-Speed) also joined the governor in MACC’s Columbia parking lot, as did Democratic State Reps. David Tyson Smith, Doug Mann and Kathy Steinhoff (all D-Columbia). House Assistant Democratic Floor Leader Richard Brown (D-Kansas City) also attended. That parking lot faces I-70. Governor Mike Parson praises the bipartisan turnout for the ceremony, saying the I-70 expansion plan is bipartisan. He compares it to his two key themes of infrastructure and workforce development.
“To be able to go out there today, being able to do the kickoff of I-70 was a pretty special moment, especially for Columbia. You know that thing’s been there for 67 years I think so it’s good to start to re-overhaul the whole system,” Parson says.
Governor Parson tells 939 the Eagle that the massive project will begin in Columbia. You should prepare for delays.
“So you’re going to see construction now like we’ve never seen it before in this state all over the state to the point where probably people are going to get a little upset because they’re seeing cones all the time and detours. But if I get in trouble for that, it’s okay. I’ll take the heat for that,” says Parson.
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Boone County Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick and Boone county commissioners Justin Aldred and Janet Thompson also attended the ceremony, along with numerous MoDOT employees. Former Columbia Mayor Brian Treece, who pushed for I-70 expansion foe several years as governor, was also in attendance.
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