columbia | 98.3 The Dove

UPDATE: Monroe County train derailment closes road in mid-Missouri’s Paris; no injuries

November 17, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a trail derailment in mid-Missouri’s Paris, which is about 60 miles northeast of Columbia. Five to six train cars have derailed.

A Monroe County Sheriff’s dispatcher tells 939 the Eagle that there are no injuries. The dispatcher says a train struck an unoccupied semi in downtown Paris. We’re told the truck driver was able to get out of the semi, and that the train conductor is not injured.

The Sheriff’s Department Facebook page says the train was carrying car parts, car frames and grain. The semi was hauling a silo tank.

Monroe County Sheriff Joe Colston and his deputies remain on the scene, and the crash scene on North Main street is expected to remain closed for the rest of the afternoon. It’s unclear how the semi ended up on the tracks, and it’s also unclear how fast the train was going.

Paris, which is a town of about 1,200 residents, is the county seat of Monroe County. The Sheriff’s Department is close to the crash scene in downtown Paris.

MoDOT still looking for snow plow operators

November 16, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) drivers plow snow in Missouri (2021 file photo courtesy of MoDOT Flickr page)

Missouri transportation officials say they’re facing a critical shortage of qualified snow plow operators, as we head into winter.

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Central District engineer Machelle Watkins tells 939 the Eagle that it will take them longer to clear routes than in the past.

“Despite our best efforts to try and recruit, we are still nearly 1,000 employees short of where we need to be to be able to respond to a winter weather event that covers more than one shift. So that means we’ll have trucks that we don’t have drivers for,” Watkins says.

MoDOT warns that if there’s a widespread winter storm lasting more than 12 hours, delays could be significant.

Ms. Watkins says the recent October statewide winter operations drill went well. She describes the drill as a great opportunity to train new snowplow operators on their designated routes.

“And we fully activate our emergency operations center. We deploy all of our plow drivers. They drive their routes and get familiar with them. We put new plow drivers alongside of seasoned ones for their training and guidance,” says Watkins.

Columbia and Ashland received about three inches of snow on Tuesday, but most of it was on grassy areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says flurries are expected today in mid-Missouri.

Mid-Missouri’s winter weather advisory runs through noon Tuesday

November 15, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Snow sticks to a tree near Highway 63 and Grindstone Parkway in south Columbia on November 15, 2022 (photo from 939 the Eagle’s Brian Hauswirth)

Columbia, Ashland, Moberly, Fayette and much of the listening area remain under a winter weather advisory through noon today (Tuesday).

National Weather Service (NWS) St. Louis meteorologist Jared Maples tells 939 the Eagle that the system started as rain last night in Columbia, before changing to a rain/snow mix and then to all snow.

“We did see accumulations overnight generally one to two inches on elevated and grassy surfaces. There are some thin areas of slush on some roadways,” Maples says.

He says ground temperatures last night were in the 40s, which helped. He’s urging you to be cautious when you drive to work this morning.

“It’s not going to be running at the clip that we saw earlier this morning and later last night, but nonetheless be advised that you could still run into some areas where you might pick up to maybe a half-inch to as much as an additional inch in that advisory area,” says Maples.

Keep your radio tuned to 939 the Eagle for updated weather forecast information.

(AUDIO): Boone County presiding commissioner-elect Kip Kendrick (D-Columbia) appears on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”

November 9, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Former State Rep. Kip Kendrick (D-Columbia) will be Boone County’s next presiding commissioner. Mr. Kendrick defeated businesswoman Connie Leipard by about 8,000 votes in Tuesday’s election. It was a clean campaign. Kendrick joined us live on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri,” telling listeners that Connie is a good person who ran for the right reasons. He’s looking forward to serving as presiding commissioner, emphasizing the importance of listening, bipartisanship and cooperation on major projects like the I-70 Rocheport bridge west of Columbia:

West-central Missouri Democratic congressional candidate is self-funding his campaign

November 4, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Lamar Democrat Jack Truman stands outside former President Harry Truman’s birthplace in southwest Missouri’s Lamar in 2022 (photo courtesy of candidate Jack Truman)

West-central Missouri’s sprawling fourth congressional district hasn’t sent a Democrat to Capitol Hill in 14 years. That’s when the late U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Lexington) won his final term in 2008.

Lamar Democrat Jack Truman believes he can win Tuesday’s election in the heavily-Republican district. The 57-year-old Truman tells 939 the Eagle that times are difficult across the rural district.

“Financially people are having to watch their pennies. And inflation and the economy is one of my top issues,” Truman says.

Mr. Truman says the regular person is having difficulty now just surviving, citing the cost of gasoline, food, rent, utilities and more. He’s self-funding his campaign and has been traveling across the sprawling 24-county district. He says there several other key issues that voters want to see addressed.

“Protecting our children, a woman’s right to choose, the economy, gun control, the environment,” says Truman.

He’ll face GOP nominee Mark Alford on Tuesday. Alford is a veteran Kansas City television new anchor.

The district includes parts of Columbia, Hallsville, Centralia and Sedalia. The district has only had two congressional representatives since 1977: Skelton from 1977-2010 and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Harrisonville) from 2011 to today. Hartzler gave up her House seat to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.