Greetings, My Fellow Missourians

Last Friday I attended the Award Ceremony for Skyline Elementary. Skyline Elementary was awarded the Blue Ribbon from the U.S. Department of Education and the Gold Star Award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Hickory County R-I (Skyline) was also awarded the 2019 Missouri Rural School District of the Year Award from the Missouri Association of Rural Educators. What an incredible group of teachers, administrators, support staff, and of their bright students! They represent the best of Missouri Education.

On Saturday, at the Courthouse in Warsaw, I presented a Resolution at the Ribbon Cutting of the Butterfield Stage Experience. The 60 mile bike ride through Benton County was their first special event. It was wonderful to see so many participants and their enthusiasm for this historic trail.

The Butterfield Stage Overland Mail operated from 1858 to 1861. John Butterfield signed a contract with the U.S. government to provide twice-a-week mail service from St. Louis to San Francisco. The railroad generally followed the alignment of the Amtrak route that you can still ride today (and still use to connect to points on the Butterfield Experience route): St. Louis, Kirkwood, Washington, Hermann, Jefferson City, California, and Tipton. At Tipton, the railroad ended and the stagecoach journey began. Butterfield had pieced together a stagecoach route from Tipton to Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, based on existing roads and routes.

Missouri makes bold push to secure transformational transportation system

House Speaker Elijah Haahr was joined by other prominent political, business, and community leaders this week to outline their efforts to make Missouri the first state in the nation to develop a high-speed Hyperloop system. Hyperloop supporters say creating a Hyperloop system that runs from Kansas City to St. Louis could create up to 17,000 new jobs and have an overall economic impact of up to $3.7 billion per year.

Hyperloop is a new mode of transportation that is meant to move freight and people quickly and safely. Passengers or cargo would be transported in a Hyperloop pod and accelerate via electric propulsion in a low-pressure tube. The pod would float above the track using magnetic levitation and glide at speeds in excess of 600 miles per hour. A Hyperloop system in Missouri would allow users to travel from St. Louis to Kansas City in approximately 30 minutes.

Speaker Haahr was joined by Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden to unveil the findings of Missouri’s Special Blue Ribbon Panel on Hyperloop. Haahr formed the Special Blue Ribbon Panel in March of this year following a feasibility study completed by Kansas City engineering firms Black & Veatch and Olsson. Missouri was the first state to complete an engineering feasibility study that concluded the core technology was viable and that the route from Kansas City to Columbia to St. Louis would be economically feasible.

In pushing for Hyperloop in Missouri, Speaker Haahr noted that the state has always been a leader when it comes to transportation innovation. Haahr pointed out that Missouri funded the first transoceanic flight with Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, and that the first miles of the United States Interstate Highway system were laid in the state. Haahr also pointed out that Missouri built the world’s first steel-truss bridge, and Missouri scientists and engineers helped launch humanity into space. Haahr said Missouri has always been on the cutting edge of developing transportation technology. “Hyperloop is the next step in transportation, and it’s the next place where we can lead the country,” said Haahr.

Supporters say Missouri could begin work on a test track as soon as a year from now. The goal would be to build a 15-mile track to test the feasibility of Hyperloop transportation, which would take 3 to 5 years to build. If successful, Missouri could begin construction on the full commercial route in 7 to 10 years. Supporters say the test track could cost between $300 million to $500 million, and the full track between Kansas City and St. Louis could cost as much as $10 billion. They noted that no tax dollars have been spent on Hyperloop to date, and the key to securing funding would be a private-public partnership structure.

Supporters also note that a Hyperloop system could reduce the number of vehicles on Interstate 70 between Kansas City and St. Louis This would allow the Missouri Department of Transportation to spend less on fixing the extremely busy section of highway. Speaker Haahr said, “Building the Hyperloop would alleviate a lot of the problems with our interstate system. The wear and tear, the human cost of access, would go down significantly.”

To see the full report, please visit this link: https://house.mo.gov/pr/hyperloopreport.pdf.

Upcoming events: El Dorado Springs – Star Spangled Christmas Parade – Saturday, November 16 at 3pm The Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade is Honoring Our VFW, the oldest Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Missouri, Celebrating 100 Years and all veterans and active-duty. For parade info contact:

Jackson Tough or Peggy Snodgrass El Dorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, 1303 S. Hwy. 32 Chamber Phone: (417) 876-4154.

El Dorado Springs, MO 64744 Email: Director@ElDoradoSpringsChamber.com.

Interim hours: Now that Session is over for 2019, I will be back in the District full time. If you need any assistance my Legislative Assistant Amy Helton will continue to be in my Capitol office Tuesday-Thursday and will be happy to help you.