Podcasts about friday news

Today on BnB Lucy and Jake discuss what games to watch today, news and injury updates & breakdown the Friday MLB Slate. It's a Foodie Friday, so Lucy and Jake look at more of the signature food around the MLB. Then Lucy & Jake wrap up the show by giving out their BEST BETS! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Your 9 a.m. Friday news update, with Todd Halliday.

Your 9 a.m. Friday news update, with Todd Halliday.

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Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation    

Your 9 a.m. Friday news update, with Todd Halliday.

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Scientists have found hacks to happiness

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation    

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] A third of Americans say tipping culture is out of control

Your 9 a.m. Friday news update, with Todd Halliday.

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Baggage handler issues warning to passengers who tie ribbons to their suitcases

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation    

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Why do we clap?

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation    

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Nearly half of Americans say having a college degree is less important now than it was 20 years ago

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation  

Join Jake as he shared some programming updates does a weekend box office preview and then shares some more recent MCU updates.

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] I got married on a Thursday and saved £3,000

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation

Thanks for tuning in. This week we bring you a bunch of food stories. Enjoy!The Bear Season 3 is comingGastropod: Why Are Restaurants So Loud?Bittman Project: The Unseen Role of Prisons in Our Food SystemSnacky Tunes: Delco Rose Hoagies & The ImmaculatesThe Speakeasy: What's Not to Like?Today: A Taco is a SandwichAmuse News is hosted and produced by RJ Bee and Heritage Radio Network. Original music by Amar Sastry.

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] In London, a Houseboat Used to Be the Affordable Option. Not Anymore.

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Taking selfies is now a 'public health problem'

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Culture Proof Listeners, THANKS! Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation    

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Can Paris make the Seine clean enough to swim in for the Olympics?

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Snack size matters: Pretzel study reveals eating patterns

A busy Friday on SDHWe look at the matchup with ATLUTD and FC Cincinnati, all the other matchups in MLS and lower divisions, stadium capacities and thoughts out of Philly...The Open Cup draw is out and Maddie catches up with Charlotte Independence head coach Mike Jeffries to preview their weekend and the new opponent in ATLUTDPlus, things not to do with laser pointers...

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] The small Caribbean island making a fortune from AI

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Blue Collar Millionaire Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Seattle-based startup makes 'beanless coffee' to help combat deforestation

Be sure to visit cultureproof.net Please consider supporting the Culture Proof Podcast. We aim to bring engaging content that will challenge and equip Christians to live according to the Straight Edge of Scripture. All gifts are tax deductible. Our Address is: S.E. Ministries PO Box 1269 Saltillo MS, 38866   Episode sponsors: BJUPress Homeschool Blue Collar Millionaire Culture Proof Conference happening July 18 - 20, 2024 at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, TN. Visit cultureproof.net   Culture Proof Podcast Theme "Believers" courtesy of Path of Revelation

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Canada's Niagara region declares 'state of emergency' as a million total solar eclipse watchers predicted

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Ultra-processed food linked to 32 harmful effects to health, review finds

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Restaurants Are Charging Hefty Fees for Late Cancellations and No-Shows.

A lot of information across the desk on a Friday at SDHBreaking news from Europe, breaking news with call-ups, all the matchups for the weekend in all divisions, and all the news you need to know!Enjoy!

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Cambridge VR research detects early Alzheimer's risk

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] ‘A game changer': Israel-based firm's foldable electric car to hit roads in July

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Pink noise can block out annoying sounds and may help you sleep better

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Swatting Hoaxes Are Targeting Elected Officials From Both Parties

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Flaco fever! Super fans track Central Park Zoo's escapee owl all around NYC

[Friday News Pick with Walter Lee] Gen-Z is now going to bed at by 9pm so they can have nine hours sleep

MAGA Embraces Anti-Hero Era | Missouri Marijuana Money Rolls In | Biden is a Union man | Oklahoma teachers get paid but not on purpose | Colorado's mining, maybe? | Kansas rules for driving children | Iowa state house members grow some spine | Missouri's speaker losing more staff | Kentucky's GOP Gets Blue Grass Stains From Falling Down Missouri Marijuana Sales Bring Big Funding For Veterans Carehttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-marijuana-revenue-will-mean-nearly-20-million-to-support-veterans-this-year/Biden wins endorsement of United Auto WorkersBiden was joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and other Michigan leaders at the UAW union hall in Warren in Macomb County to celebrate the union's accomplishments in the last year and its endorsement of Biden's reelection campaign.Biden told UAW members “Supporting you is the easiest thing I've ever done. The single biggest reason why we have unions growing, the single biggest reason the economy is growing … because you are the best workers in the world.” Michigan is expected to play a key role in the November general election, as Biden looks to win the state again. This is the second time in recent months that Biden has come to Michigan to talk with UAW members. He became the first sitting U.S. president in modern history to visit a picket line in September during a historic strike against Detroit's “Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. UAW President Shawn Fain announced the union's endorsement of Biden's campaign on Jan. 24 and drew a sharp comparison between Biden and GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump.“Rarely as a union do you get so clear of a choice between two candidates. It's not about who you like, it's not about your party, it's not about this b—–t about age. It's not about anything but our best shot at taking back power for the working class.”In September, Trump also traveled to Michigan during the UAW strike, but he visited a non-union plant in Macomb County where he advised the UAW to endorse him for president.Trump said, “Shawn, endorse Trump and you can take a nice two-month vacation, come back, and you guys are going to be better than you ever were. The other way, you won't have a vacation, Shawn. And in a short period of time, you're not going to have a union. You're not going to have jobs. You're not going to have anything.”“Trump is a scab,” Fain said recently. “Donald Trump stands against everything the UAW stands for. When you go back to our core issues — Wages. Retirement. Health care. Time. That's what this election is about,” Fain said. “Instead of talking trash about our union, Joe Biden stood with us.”By November, the UAW ratified new contracts with all three companies that included significant worker raises, an end to the tiered wage system and improvements to the automakers' retirement benefits. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Biden is a “jobs president,” “Under President Biden, we've seen 14 million jobs created, including 800,000 manufacturing jobs, which is more than any president in a single termBiden wrapped up his time at the union hall calling Whitmer “the best governor in the country” and Dingell a “fighter.” To the UAW Workers in Warren he said, “Thank you and the whole country owes you,” Biden said to the UAW workers in Warren. “You're not only helping auto workers, you're helping every worker in the world.”Oklahoma Teachers Likely To Keep Bonus Moneyhttps://oklahomavoice.com/2024/01/31/oklahoma-teachers-may-not-have-to-return-errant-bonuses-walters-says/OKLAHOMA CITY — State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Wednesday errant bonuses his administration paid to educators might not have to be clawed back.In a press conference he called to accuse reporters of lying about the situation, Walters said the Oklahoma State Department of Education is coordinating with the teachers who wrongly received signing bonuses to find another solution. He said that could include longer contractual commitments in exchange for keeping the money.“There is a path forward that does not require a payback from those teachers,” Walters said.But at least one affected teacher got no such promise, her attorney, Mark Hammons, said.Oklahoma County teacher Kristina Stadelman heard from the state agency in the past two days, informing her a Feb. 29 deadline for repayment no longer applied, Hammons said.But that included no guarantee she would never have to repay the bonus, he said, and that's why she joined a lawsuit on Wednesday to challenge the demand.“They extended the time for the deadline and said they were looking into other possibilities,” Hammons said. “We don't know what that means, and they didn't explain that to her, but they certainly made no promise that she wouldn't have to pay back all or any portion of that money.”Both of Hammons' clients, Stadelman and Osage County teacher Kay Bojorquez, said they were awarded $50,000 bonuses in the fall from a teacher recruitment program Walters created last year. Colorado's New Coal Mine… Maybehttps://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/environmental-groups-epa-colorado-coal-mine/Conservation groups are asking EPA to block permit for new coal mine in coloradoTwo conservation groups have formally petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to intervene in state air-quality regulators' decision to issue an operating permit to Colorado's largest remaining coal mine.Colorado's Air Pollution Control Division issued the permit to the West Elk Mine in Gunnison County in December, more than six months after a federal judge's ruling that the agency had illegally delayed its decision on whether to approve or deny the permit, which a subsidiary of mine owner Arch Coal first applied for in 2020.But two of the groups involved in that litigation, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, call the permit issued by the APCD a “free pass” that doesn't do enough to limit emissions of volatile organic compounds, a class of hazardous air pollutants, or methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.Iowa Lawmakers Keep Protections for Gender Identity In Law… after considering taking it awayhttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/31/iowa-house-lawmakers-reject-bill-to-remove-gender-identity-protections-from-iowa-civil-rights-law/Protection of “gender identity” under the Iowa Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in areas like employment, housing, education or public accommodations. Under the proposal, a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria or any condition related to a gender identity disorder” would be classified a disability under Iowa Code – another protected class under the civil rights act.Aime Wichtendahl, a Hiawatha City Council member, criticized lawmakers for considering legislation that would make Iowa the first state in the country to remove civil rights protections for a group of citizens. Missouri Speaker Plochs Another One Into The Bowlhttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/embattled-missouri-house-speaker-dean-plocher-dismisses-another-top-staffer/Embattled Mo House Speaker Dean Plocher has lost another staff member https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/embattled-missouri-house-speaker-dean-plocher-dismisses-another-top-staffer/Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher fired his legislative director Wednesday, the latest in a series of departures from his office as he continues to face an ethics investigation into allegations of unlawful conduct. Erica Choinka had worked for the Missouri House since 2016, first as a legislative assistant and then as legislative director for former Speakers Elijah Haahr and Rob Vescovo. She continued to serve under Plocher until Wednesday, when she was fired. Choinka declined to comment, and a spokesman for Plocher did not immediately respond to an email about the dismissal. The staff shakeup follows the firing of Plocher's chief of staff in October and the resignation of his chief legal counsel in November. And it comes as an ethics inquiry into his alleged misconduct enters its fourth month. The investigation was launched late last year after The Independent reported that Plocher on numerous occasions over the years illegally sought reimbursement from the legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign. In each instance, Plocher was required to sign a sworn statement declaring that the payments were made with “personal funds, for which I have not been reimbursed.”Finally… In another story out of Missouri, sorry, that's Kansas, no wait, my bad from Iowa, oh, nope, that's Oklahoma… wait, Indiana, or… was this Ohio? Ah, I see now - from Kentucky…GOP supermajority: Silly, unserious, unconcerned by Kentuckians' real problemsAuthor: Teri Carterhttps://kentuckylantern.com/2024/02/01/gop-supermajority-silly-unserious-unconcerned-by-kentuckians-real-problems/On Jan. 31, I began my day reading a story that opened with a stunning sentence. “Some residents of a county in Kentucky are going on two weeks without running water, forcing them to use public toilets and catch rainwater to bathe.”As I was reading this news, a 7:31 a.m. tweet popped up from Rep. Josh Calloway. “Actually, what it means to be a good parent is to tell your children the truth. The truth is men are men, women are women, and neither can become the other. The truth is, they were not born in the wrong body, they are perfect just the way God made them. It is Evil to lie to children.”Yes, this is anecdotal, but it is also reflective of a maddening reality. We are one-third through the all-important budget session of our 2024 General Assembly, and the GOP supermajority in Frankfort is wasting their days focused on problems we do not have and, well, sex. Always sex. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

MAGA Embraces Anti-Hero Era | Missouri Marijuana Money Rolls In | Biden is a Union man | Oklahoma teachers get paid but not on purpose | Colorado's mining, maybe? | Kansas rules for driving children | Iowa state house members grow some spine | Missouri's speaker losing more staff | Kentucky's GOP Gets Blue Grass Stains From Falling Down Missouri Marijuana Sales Bring Big Funding For Veterans Carehttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-marijuana-revenue-will-mean-nearly-20-million-to-support-veterans-this-year/Biden wins endorsement of United Auto WorkersBiden was joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and other Michigan leaders at the UAW union hall in Warren in Macomb County to celebrate the union's accomplishments in the last year and its endorsement of Biden's reelection campaign.Biden told UAW members “Supporting you is the easiest thing I've ever done. The single biggest reason why we have unions growing, the single biggest reason the economy is growing … because you are the best workers in the world.” Michigan is expected to play a key role in the November general election, as Biden looks to win the state again. This is the second time in recent months that Biden has come to Michigan to talk with UAW members. He became the first sitting U.S. president in modern history to visit a picket line in September during a historic strike against Detroit's “Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. UAW President Shawn Fain announced the union's endorsement of Biden's campaign on Jan. 24 and drew a sharp comparison between Biden and GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump.“Rarely as a union do you get so clear of a choice between two candidates. It's not about who you like, it's not about your party, it's not about this b—–t about age. It's not about anything but our best shot at taking back power for the working class.”In September, Trump also traveled to Michigan during the UAW strike, but he visited a non-union plant in Macomb County where he advised the UAW to endorse him for president.Trump said, “Shawn, endorse Trump and you can take a nice two-month vacation, come back, and you guys are going to be better than you ever were. The other way, you won't have a vacation, Shawn. And in a short period of time, you're not going to have a union. You're not going to have jobs. You're not going to have anything.”“Trump is a scab,” Fain said recently. “Donald Trump stands against everything the UAW stands for. When you go back to our core issues — Wages. Retirement. Health care. Time. That's what this election is about,” Fain said. “Instead of talking trash about our union, Joe Biden stood with us.”By November, the UAW ratified new contracts with all three companies that included significant worker raises, an end to the tiered wage system and improvements to the automakers' retirement benefits. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Biden is a “jobs president,” “Under President Biden, we've seen 14 million jobs created, including 800,000 manufacturing jobs, which is more than any president in a single termBiden wrapped up his time at the union hall calling Whitmer “the best governor in the country” and Dingell a “fighter.” To the UAW Workers in Warren he said, “Thank you and the whole country owes you,” Biden said to the UAW workers in Warren. “You're not only helping auto workers, you're helping every worker in the world.”Oklahoma Teachers Likely To Keep Bonus Moneyhttps://oklahomavoice.com/2024/01/31/oklahoma-teachers-may-not-have-to-return-errant-bonuses-walters-says/OKLAHOMA CITY — State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Wednesday errant bonuses his administration paid to educators might not have to be clawed back.In a press conference he called to accuse reporters of lying about the situation, Walters said the Oklahoma State Department of Education is coordinating with the teachers who wrongly received signing bonuses to find another solution. He said that could include longer contractual commitments in exchange for keeping the money.“There is a path forward that does not require a payback from those teachers,” Walters said.But at least one affected teacher got no such promise, her attorney, Mark Hammons, said.Oklahoma County teacher Kristina Stadelman heard from the state agency in the past two days, informing her a Feb. 29 deadline for repayment no longer applied, Hammons said.But that included no guarantee she would never have to repay the bonus, he said, and that's why she joined a lawsuit on Wednesday to challenge the demand.“They extended the time for the deadline and said they were looking into other possibilities,” Hammons said. “We don't know what that means, and they didn't explain that to her, but they certainly made no promise that she wouldn't have to pay back all or any portion of that money.”Both of Hammons' clients, Stadelman and Osage County teacher Kay Bojorquez, said they were awarded $50,000 bonuses in the fall from a teacher recruitment program Walters created last year. Colorado's New Coal Mine… Maybehttps://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/environmental-groups-epa-colorado-coal-mine/Conservation groups are asking EPA to block permit for new coal mine in coloradoTwo conservation groups have formally petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to intervene in state air-quality regulators' decision to issue an operating permit to Colorado's largest remaining coal mine.Colorado's Air Pollution Control Division issued the permit to the West Elk Mine in Gunnison County in December, more than six months after a federal judge's ruling that the agency had illegally delayed its decision on whether to approve or deny the permit, which a subsidiary of mine owner Arch Coal first applied for in 2020.But two of the groups involved in that litigation, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, call the permit issued by the APCD a “free pass” that doesn't do enough to limit emissions of volatile organic compounds, a class of hazardous air pollutants, or methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.Iowa Lawmakers Keep Protections for Gender Identity In Law… after considering taking it awayhttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/31/iowa-house-lawmakers-reject-bill-to-remove-gender-identity-protections-from-iowa-civil-rights-law/Protection of “gender identity” under the Iowa Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in areas like employment, housing, education or public accommodations. Under the proposal, a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria or any condition related to a gender identity disorder” would be classified a disability under Iowa Code – another protected class under the civil rights act.Aime Wichtendahl, a Hiawatha City Council member, criticized lawmakers for considering legislation that would make Iowa the first state in the country to remove civil rights protections for a group of citizens. Missouri Speaker Plochs Another One Into The Bowlhttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/embattled-missouri-house-speaker-dean-plocher-dismisses-another-top-staffer/Embattled Mo House Speaker Dean Plocher has lost another staff member https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/embattled-missouri-house-speaker-dean-plocher-dismisses-another-top-staffer/Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher fired his legislative director Wednesday, the latest in a series of departures from his office as he continues to face an ethics investigation into allegations of unlawful conduct. Erica Choinka had worked for the Missouri House since 2016, first as a legislative assistant and then as legislative director for former Speakers Elijah Haahr and Rob Vescovo. She continued to serve under Plocher until Wednesday, when she was fired. Choinka declined to comment, and a spokesman for Plocher did not immediately respond to an email about the dismissal. The staff shakeup follows the firing of Plocher's chief of staff in October and the resignation of his chief legal counsel in November. And it comes as an ethics inquiry into his alleged misconduct enters its fourth month. The investigation was launched late last year after The Independent reported that Plocher on numerous occasions over the years illegally sought reimbursement from the legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign. In each instance, Plocher was required to sign a sworn statement declaring that the payments were made with “personal funds, for which I have not been reimbursed.”Finally… In another story out of Missouri, sorry, that's Kansas, no wait, my bad from Iowa, oh, nope, that's Oklahoma… wait, Indiana, or… was this Ohio? Ah, I see now - from Kentucky…GOP supermajority: Silly, unserious, unconcerned by Kentuckians' real problemsAuthor: Teri Carterhttps://kentuckylantern.com/2024/02/01/gop-supermajority-silly-unserious-unconcerned-by-kentuckians-real-problems/On Jan. 31, I began my day reading a story that opened with a stunning sentence. “Some residents of a county in Kentucky are going on two weeks without running water, forcing them to use public toilets and catch rainwater to bathe.”As I was reading this news, a 7:31 a.m. tweet popped up from Rep. Josh Calloway. “Actually, what it means to be a good parent is to tell your children the truth. The truth is men are men, women are women, and neither can become the other. The truth is, they were not born in the wrong body, they are perfect just the way God made them. It is Evil to lie to children.”Yes, this is anecdotal, but it is also reflective of a maddening reality. We are one-third through the all-important budget session of our 2024 General Assembly, and the GOP supermajority in Frankfort is wasting their days focused on problems we do not have and, well, sex. Always sex. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

A flyover from this week's top heartland stories including:Missouri GOP in-fighting in full swing | In Iowa there's something in the water… poop | Missouri Medicaid enrollees trapped in a nightmare | Kari Lake leaks a tape | CO House ditches Minority Leader Mike Lynch | Iowa anthem antics | Ted Cruz's Democratic challenger in Texas | Missouri Senator Nick Schroer is a joke SOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Colorado News Line, Missouri Independent, New York Times, Iowa Capitol DispatchThrow The Bums Out! https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/25/missouri-senate-gop-warfare-escalates-with-suggestion-of-expelling-freedom-caucus-leader/The factional fights making the Missouri Senate a public spectacle are bad enough that Senate Majority Leader Cindy O'Laughlin told reporters Thursday that she'd vote to expel the leader of the Freedom Caucus from the chamber.Speaking to the assembled editors and publishers from the Missouri Press Association during their annual visit to the Capitol, O'Laughlin noted that expelling a senator takes 23 votes of the 34-member chamber.“Two years ago, I said with 23 votes, you can throw somebody out of here,” she said. “And I would do it today.”Asked who she meant, O'Laughlin named Sen. Bill Eigel.“I would have to have 23 votes and get 23 votes, I'll have to get some Democrats to vote for it and then I'll have to give up something big,” O'Laughlin said. “So….everything here is a trade off you know.”Soon after the remarks were reported on social media by The Independent, the door to the Senate Lounge, where O'Laughlin was speaking, opened and a Senate doorman said Eigel wanted to talk to her on the floor. Must be something in the water… sadly, in Iowa it might be poophttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/25/state-issues-several-fines-for-manure-violations/From article: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently fined several livestock operations and a manure hauler for infractions that ranged from failing to submit animal waste management plans to a manure spill that resulted from a train collision.The crash happened in June 2023, when an employee of Magnum Custom Hauling, of South English, was transporting up to 6,000 gallons of manure in Marion County.Employee Deal Keasling was operating a tractor that pulled a manure spreader on a gravel road south of Pleasantville when he approached a railway and noticed a train, according to a DNR order.“When he saw the train, he realized he wasn't going to be able to stop, so he basically floored it,” said Janet Gastineau, a senior environmental specialist for the DNR.There is a bend in the road at the railway intersection and wooded areas nearby that might have obscured Keasling's view of the train, which struck the manure spreader. Keasling's certification to handle the manure had expired, the order said.No one was injured, Gastineau said, but an unspecified amount of manure went into nearby Coon Creek. Magnum and Keasling were ordered to pay a $4,975 fine.The DNR also recently fined five livestock operations for failing to submit required plans to manage their manure, which helps ensure the manure is not excessively applied to fields: Missouri medicaid system seems to have been broken from the insidehttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/23/perfect-storm-missouri-advocates-decry-medicaid-application-delays-coverage-losses/Hannah Kaplanis applied to Missouri's Medicaid program nearly two months ago, but hasn't received any response from the state.Just shy of 18 weeks pregnant, she's in need of prenatal care and growing increasingly hopeless. Aside from a free ultrasound in November, she hasn't been able to access any care. She called Missouri's Medicaid helpline earlier this month but had to hang up after waiting on hold for 45 minutes, and she is unable to apply for other insurance until she is out of Medicaid limbo. “It feels like I'm doing motherhood wrong already, but it's out of my hands,” she said. “I'm at a loss. It's just a waiting game and that gives me anxiety.”Jim Torres, program manager for health insurance services at Samuel Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City, helped Kaplanis submit her application and has been checking its status. He said that he hasn't seen “any movement on her most recent application that was submitted on Dec. 4.” Kaplanis' struggles are not isolated. Missourians trying to enroll in or retain Medicaid — the government-run health insurance program for low-income Americans — report running headlong into the state's increasingly-strained system. Interviews with advocates, applicants, participants and experts reveal increased pressure on the state's capacity has intensified bureaucratic hurdles to accessing Medicaid, which include lost and missing paperwork, indecipherable state notices and marathon call center wait times.“I've been doing this with my organization for 10 years now,” said Saralyn Erwin, a marketplace and Medicaid coordinator at Northeast Missouri Health Council who assists with applications and renewals, “and this is the worst that I have seen it.” GOP Chair in Arizona Resigns After Evidence of bribe to Kari Lakehttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/us/politics/kari-lake-arizona-gop.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShareThe chairman of Arizona's Republican Party resigned abruptly on Wednesday, a day after the publication of a 10-minute recording of a conversation between himself and Kari Lake, a former nominee for governor, in which he appeared to offer a bribe to persuade Ms. Lake to drop her 2024 Senate campaign.In the recording, which was published by The Daily Mail, Jeff DeWit, the chairman, tells Ms. Lake that there are “very powerful people that want to keep you out” of the race, and suggests he is passing on a message from them. He says he had been told to ask her: “Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll and give her — to keep her out?”Later in the conversation, which Mr. DeWit repeatedly urges Ms. Lake not to repeat to anyone, he starts to ask, “Is there a number at which — ” before Ms. Lake interrupts, saying “I can be bought?” He replies, “Not be bought,” but instead wait a few years before running.Ms. Lake brushed off the attempts, repeatedly telling Mr. DeWit that she was offended by the approach. “That's immoral — I couldn't look at myself in the mirror,” she says, according to the recording.The Colorado House GOP has a new leader… wonder why?https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/house-republicans-rose-pugliese-minority-leader/Colorado House Republicans chose state Rep. Rose Pugliese, a freshman lawmaker from Colorado Springs, as their new minority leader Thursday, a day after Rep. Mike Lynch stepped down following news of a 2022 drunken driving arrest.Pugliese had been serving as assistant minority leader.Iowa Forced Patriotism In Schoolshttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/24/iowa-lawmakers-consider-requiring-students-teachers-sing-national-anthem-at-school-each-day/Iowa students would be required to sing part of the national anthem at school each day under a bill advanced Wednesday by a House Education subcommittee.Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, stood and led the room in singing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” during her closing comments.Cahill said she sang because “our Capitol is the perfect place to show patriotism,” but requiring the singing of the national anthem in school classrooms each day is not the best path forward as it would be “mandating patriotism for students.”“I think that's something students choose and it's something that they learn and they'll learn it in other ways,” Cahill said.House Study Bill 587 would require students and teachers at Iowa public schools to sing at least one verse of the national anthem every day, in addition to singing all four verses of the song on “patriotic occasions” as well as at school functions or school-sponsored activities as determined by the district. Students and teachers would not be required to sing along, but would be required to stand at attention, remain silent and remove non-religious head coverings as the anthem is being sung.Private schools would be exempt from this requirement.Allred Alright For Texas? https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/24/analysis-colin-allreds-chances-of-unseating-ted-cruz/Can Allred win? Missouri Dueling Club Opening Soon In Capitol Building Near Youhttps://www.newsweek.com/missouri-republican-senators-duel-nick-schroer-1863838A ridiculous human being and MAGA stooge of a state senator in Missouri, who's name is not important, offered a proposed new rule to allow for DUELING when the right wing snow flakes are insulted and get triggeredHis proposed amendment was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Missouri Senate Democrats. It read: "If a senator's honor is impugned by another senator to the point that it is beyond repair and in order for the offended senator to gain satisfaction, such senator may rectify the perceived insult to the senator's honor by challenging the offending senator to a duel.What kind of duels? Dueling pianos? Dueling banjos? Dual credit scholarships? Dual citizenship? Dual enrollment? Weekend plans?Welp that's it for this week. Stories in today's show can be accessed at the Heartland Collective, Colorado Newsline, Missouri Independent, New York Times, Iowa Capitol Dispatch @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

A flyover from this week's top heartland stories including:Missouri GOP in-fighting in full swing | In Iowa there's something in the water… poop | Missouri Medicaid enrollees trapped in a nightmare | Kari Lake leaks a tape | CO House ditches Minority Leader Mike Lynch | Iowa anthem antics | Ted Cruz's Democratic challenger in Texas | Missouri Senator Nick Schroer is a joke SOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Colorado News Line, Missouri Independent, New York Times, Iowa Capitol DispatchThrow The Bums Out! https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/25/missouri-senate-gop-warfare-escalates-with-suggestion-of-expelling-freedom-caucus-leader/The factional fights making the Missouri Senate a public spectacle are bad enough that Senate Majority Leader Cindy O'Laughlin told reporters Thursday that she'd vote to expel the leader of the Freedom Caucus from the chamber.Speaking to the assembled editors and publishers from the Missouri Press Association during their annual visit to the Capitol, O'Laughlin noted that expelling a senator takes 23 votes of the 34-member chamber.“Two years ago, I said with 23 votes, you can throw somebody out of here,” she said. “And I would do it today.”Asked who she meant, O'Laughlin named Sen. Bill Eigel.“I would have to have 23 votes and get 23 votes, I'll have to get some Democrats to vote for it and then I'll have to give up something big,” O'Laughlin said. “So….everything here is a trade off you know.”Soon after the remarks were reported on social media by The Independent, the door to the Senate Lounge, where O'Laughlin was speaking, opened and a Senate doorman said Eigel wanted to talk to her on the floor. Must be something in the water… sadly, in Iowa it might be poophttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/25/state-issues-several-fines-for-manure-violations/From article: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently fined several livestock operations and a manure hauler for infractions that ranged from failing to submit animal waste management plans to a manure spill that resulted from a train collision.The crash happened in June 2023, when an employee of Magnum Custom Hauling, of South English, was transporting up to 6,000 gallons of manure in Marion County.Employee Deal Keasling was operating a tractor that pulled a manure spreader on a gravel road south of Pleasantville when he approached a railway and noticed a train, according to a DNR order.“When he saw the train, he realized he wasn't going to be able to stop, so he basically floored it,” said Janet Gastineau, a senior environmental specialist for the DNR.There is a bend in the road at the railway intersection and wooded areas nearby that might have obscured Keasling's view of the train, which struck the manure spreader. Keasling's certification to handle the manure had expired, the order said.No one was injured, Gastineau said, but an unspecified amount of manure went into nearby Coon Creek. Magnum and Keasling were ordered to pay a $4,975 fine.The DNR also recently fined five livestock operations for failing to submit required plans to manage their manure, which helps ensure the manure is not excessively applied to fields: Missouri medicaid system seems to have been broken from the insidehttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/23/perfect-storm-missouri-advocates-decry-medicaid-application-delays-coverage-losses/Hannah Kaplanis applied to Missouri's Medicaid program nearly two months ago, but hasn't received any response from the state.Just shy of 18 weeks pregnant, she's in need of prenatal care and growing increasingly hopeless. Aside from a free ultrasound in November, she hasn't been able to access any care. She called Missouri's Medicaid helpline earlier this month but had to hang up after waiting on hold for 45 minutes, and she is unable to apply for other insurance until she is out of Medicaid limbo. “It feels like I'm doing motherhood wrong already, but it's out of my hands,” she said. “I'm at a loss. It's just a waiting game and that gives me anxiety.”Jim Torres, program manager for health insurance services at Samuel Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City, helped Kaplanis submit her application and has been checking its status. He said that he hasn't seen “any movement on her most recent application that was submitted on Dec. 4.” Kaplanis' struggles are not isolated. Missourians trying to enroll in or retain Medicaid — the government-run health insurance program for low-income Americans — report running headlong into the state's increasingly-strained system. Interviews with advocates, applicants, participants and experts reveal increased pressure on the state's capacity has intensified bureaucratic hurdles to accessing Medicaid, which include lost and missing paperwork, indecipherable state notices and marathon call center wait times.“I've been doing this with my organization for 10 years now,” said Saralyn Erwin, a marketplace and Medicaid coordinator at Northeast Missouri Health Council who assists with applications and renewals, “and this is the worst that I have seen it.” GOP Chair in Arizona Resigns After Evidence of bribe to Kari Lakehttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/us/politics/kari-lake-arizona-gop.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShareThe chairman of Arizona's Republican Party resigned abruptly on Wednesday, a day after the publication of a 10-minute recording of a conversation between himself and Kari Lake, a former nominee for governor, in which he appeared to offer a bribe to persuade Ms. Lake to drop her 2024 Senate campaign.In the recording, which was published by The Daily Mail, Jeff DeWit, the chairman, tells Ms. Lake that there are “very powerful people that want to keep you out” of the race, and suggests he is passing on a message from them. He says he had been told to ask her: “Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll and give her — to keep her out?”Later in the conversation, which Mr. DeWit repeatedly urges Ms. Lake not to repeat to anyone, he starts to ask, “Is there a number at which — ” before Ms. Lake interrupts, saying “I can be bought?” He replies, “Not be bought,” but instead wait a few years before running.Ms. Lake brushed off the attempts, repeatedly telling Mr. DeWit that she was offended by the approach. “That's immoral — I couldn't look at myself in the mirror,” she says, according to the recording.The Colorado House GOP has a new leader… wonder why?https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/house-republicans-rose-pugliese-minority-leader/Colorado House Republicans chose state Rep. Rose Pugliese, a freshman lawmaker from Colorado Springs, as their new minority leader Thursday, a day after Rep. Mike Lynch stepped down following news of a 2022 drunken driving arrest.Pugliese had been serving as assistant minority leader.Iowa Forced Patriotism In Schoolshttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/24/iowa-lawmakers-consider-requiring-students-teachers-sing-national-anthem-at-school-each-day/Iowa students would be required to sing part of the national anthem at school each day under a bill advanced Wednesday by a House Education subcommittee.Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, stood and led the room in singing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” during her closing comments.Cahill said she sang because “our Capitol is the perfect place to show patriotism,” but requiring the singing of the national anthem in school classrooms each day is not the best path forward as it would be “mandating patriotism for students.”“I think that's something students choose and it's something that they learn and they'll learn it in other ways,” Cahill said.House Study Bill 587 would require students and teachers at Iowa public schools to sing at least one verse of the national anthem every day, in addition to singing all four verses of the song on “patriotic occasions” as well as at school functions or school-sponsored activities as determined by the district. Students and teachers would not be required to sing along, but would be required to stand at attention, remain silent and remove non-religious head coverings as the anthem is being sung.Private schools would be exempt from this requirement.Allred Alright For Texas? https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/24/analysis-colin-allreds-chances-of-unseating-ted-cruz/Can Allred win? Missouri Dueling Club Opening Soon In Capitol Building Near Youhttps://www.newsweek.com/missouri-republican-senators-duel-nick-schroer-1863838A ridiculous human being and MAGA stooge of a state senator in Missouri, who's name is not important, offered a proposed new rule to allow for DUELING when the right wing snow flakes are insulted and get triggeredHis proposed amendment was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Missouri Senate Democrats. It read: "If a senator's honor is impugned by another senator to the point that it is beyond repair and in order for the offended senator to gain satisfaction, such senator may rectify the perceived insult to the senator's honor by challenging the offending senator to a duel.What kind of duels? Dueling pianos? Dueling banjos? Dual credit scholarships? Dual citizenship? Dual enrollment? Weekend plans?Welp that's it for this week. Stories in today's show can be accessed at the Heartland Collective, Colorado Newsline, Missouri Independent, New York Times, Iowa Capitol Dispatch @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

Friday News Flyover, January 19, 2024Oil train delayed | Abortion rights advocates speak with Senators | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and GOP-dominated legislature's priorities | and OH Sen. Sherrod Brown and MO Rep. Jason Smith make big bi-partisan deal on Child Tax CreditIf you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com This train is not leaving the stationForest Service withdraws key permit for controversial Utah oil-train project opposed by ColoradansProject would dramatically increase hazardous shipments through Colorado communitiesBY: CHASE WOODRUFF - JANUARY 18, 2024 9:18 AMA controversial Utah oil-train proposal opposed by Colorado communities and environmentalists was dealt another blow this week when the U.S. Forest Service withdrew a key permit for the project.In an announcement published Wednesday, Ashley National Forest Supervisor Susan Eickhoff blocked the issuance of a permit to the Uinta Basin Railway to construct 12 miles of railroad track through a protected area of the national forest in northeast Utah. The stretch of track in question is part of the proposed railway's 88-mile connection between the oil fields of eastern Utah's Uinta Basin and the existing national rail network.The project has drawn fierce opposition from Coloradans. A federal “downline analysis” estimated that 90% of the resulting oil-train traffic — as many as five fully loaded, two-mile-long trains of crude oil tankers per day — would be routed through environmentally sensitive and densely populated areas in Colorado, en route to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. The oil trains would more than quadruple the amount of hazardous materials being shipped by rail through many Colorado counties.Colorado's Eagle County and five environmental groups sued to overturn the Uinta Basin Railway's approval, and in August 2023 a panel of federal judges ruled that the approval process contained “numerous” and “significant” violations of the National Environmental Policy Act. The ruling vacated portions of the project's environmental impact statement and ordered the federal Surface Transportation Board to redo its analysis of key environmental risks.Because the Forest Service's decision in August 2022 to grant a right-of-way permit to the project was based on that flawed analysis, the agency has withdrawn its decision pending further proceedings at the STB.Ted Zukoski, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to block the project. “This is wonderful news for the roadless forest in Utah's Indian Canyon and the wildlife who call it home. It's a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills. If the oil train's backers attempt to revive this dangerous scheme, we'll be there to fight it again.”In a press release, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who had urged multiple federal agencies to put a stop to the project, applauded the Forest Service's move.“A derailment along the headwaters of the Colorado River could have catastrophic effects for Colorado's communities, water, and environment. I'm glad the Forest Service has taken this important step to protect the Colorado River and the tens of millions of people who depend on it.”U.S. Senators and Abortion Rights Advocates Discuss State Abortion Access LimitationsBY: JENNIFER SHUTT - JANUARY 17, 2024WASHINGTON — During a Capitol Visitors Center briefing, abortion rights advocates and Democratic U.S. Senators called for reinstating legal and safe abortion access nationwide. The nearly three-hour session featured physicians discussing the difficulties faced in states with restrictive abortion laws following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN involved in a lawsuit against the state's abortion laws, spoke about the validity and personal nature of each abortion decision. He highlighted patients' fears about family planning in states with restrictive laws, noting the adverse impact on what should be a joyful life chapter.The briefing preceded the annual anti-abortion March for Life, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chris Smith scheduled to speak. Senate Democrats criticized efforts to limit abortion access and discussed two upcoming Supreme Court cases with significant implications.One case focuses on mifepristone, a key medication in abortion and miscarriage treatments, while the other revolves around the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The Biden administration argues that EMTALA should protect doctors performing abortions as emergency medical treatment in states with strict anti-abortion laws.Dr. Serina Floyd, a Washington, D.C. OB-GYN and Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow, expressed confusion over Republican efforts to target EMTALA, emphasizing the potential life-saving importance of emergency abortion care. She noted research indicating severe consequences for patients denied abortion access, including health risks, economic hardship, and staying in violent relationships.Dr. Floyd advocated for non-interference from the government in medical decisions, stressing that patients are capable of making informed choices about their health and lives with their healthcare providers.Senator Patty Murray of Washington highlighted her state's influx of abortion patients from restrictive states like Idaho. Murray and other senators at the briefing expressed concern that residents in states with abortion protections might not realize the impact of a potential nationwide abortion ban or Supreme Court decisions.Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan pointed out that even states with constitutional reproductive rights, like Michigan, are not fully shielded from the effects of a national abortion ban. After hearing doctors' testimonies, Stabenow expressed astonishment at the challenges facing both physicians and women needing abortion access, questioning the progress made in women's rights, asking, “is it 2024 or are we back in 1984?”Kansas Legislature Fast-Tracks Tax Reform Opposed by Governor KellyBY: TIM CARPENTER - JANUARY 17, 2024TOPEKA — Kansas Republican legislative leaders are expediting a tax reform bill focusing on income and sales tax changes, including a single-rate state income tax of 5.25%, which Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has threatened to veto.The bill, bypassing regular committee processes, is set for early-session debate in the Senate. The proposed tax overhaul would lead to a state revenue reduction exceeding $1.5 billion over three years, surpassing Governor Kelly's proposed $1 billion cut. The plan to implement a flat tax rate of 5.25%, replacing Kansas' three-rate income tax structure, has been met with opposition from Governor Kelly because it disproportionately benefits the wealthy.The bill also proposes eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits, aligning with Kelly's proposal. Additionally, it seeks to remove the state sales tax on groceries starting April 1, advancing the timeline from the previously set January 1, 2025. The measure includes an exemption for the first $100,000 in state property taxes from all Kansas homeowners for school finance purposes, adjustable for inflation.Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, view the bill as a compromise, claiming it addresses issues faced by retirees and families while tackling inflation.Governor Kelly vetoed two major tax reform bills in 2023, which the Republican-dominated Legislature couldn't override. “We must get that money back into Kansans' pockets — and we will —  in a fiscally responsible and targeted way,” Kelly said. “In a way that doesn't threaten progress on all the other issues Kansans care about.  Unfortunately, that's exactly what one proposal — the flat tax — would do. ”   Kansas' Governor Kelly calls for hearing on Medicaid expansion bill that would cover 150,000 KansansBY: RACHEL MIPRO - JANUARY 17, 2024 2:35 PM     TOPEKA — A Medicaid expansion proposal has been enrolled into state House and Senate committees despite continued opposition from top legislative Republicans. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who has spent the months leading up to the legislative session rallying across the state for Medicaid expansion, called for a hearing on the bill by Jan. 29. “It's easy to sum up the Cutting Healthcare Costs for All Kansans Act: health care coverage for 150,000 Kansans, cost savings for everyone else. We protect our rural hospitals, and Kansas taxpayers pay nothing extra,” Kelly said in a Wednesday announcement of the proposal's enrollment. “The legislature should listen to the over 70% of Kansans who support Medicaid Expansion and give this bill a hearing by Kansas Day.”  Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, introduced the bill in the House Appropriations Committee and on the Senate side, Sen. Pat Pettey, D- Kansas City, introduced the bill into the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “Medicaid expansion is not only popular, but it saves lives, creates jobs and saves our rural hospitals. Hardworking Kansans shouldn't die because of legislative inaction,” Miller said.Medicaid expansion would unlock $700 million in annual federal funding and could potentially save 59 rural hospitals at risk of closing. Kelly unveiled her latest Medicaid expansion package in December, but Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins remain opposed to expansion, calling the move a way to expand the “welfare state.” Lawmakers last came close to expansion in 2020, when former Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning worked out a bipartisan deal with Kelly. But the deal fell apart as Republicans, outraged by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, focused on placing a constitutional amendment on abortion before voters instead,Child Tax Credit and Business Incentives Merged in New Tax ProposalBY: ASHLEY MURRAY - JANUARY 16, 2024WASHINGTON — Leading members of Congress released a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal Tuesday, promising a middle-path deal to help low-income families and provide incentives for businesses as Trump-era tax breaks expire.The framework led by U.S. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri would raise the child tax credit incrementally through 2025 and restore tax relief for affordable housing projects.The three-year proposal would also make exempt disaster payments to wildfire victims and to those who suffered losses after the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Sen. Wyden, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in a statement that “(f)ifteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given today's miserable political climate, it's a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead.”Democrats have been pushing to permanently raise the tax credit that low-income families receive per child after a temporary increase during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated significant reductions in child poverty. Wyden also praised the deal's potential to spur affordable housing construction and said that his goal “remains to get this passed in time for families and businesses to benefit in this upcoming tax filing season, and I'm going to pull out all the stops to get that done.”Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said “American families will benefit from this bipartisan agreement that provides greater tax relief, strengthens Main Street businesses, boosts our competitiveness with China, and creates jobs.”“We even provide disaster relief and cut red tape for small businesses, while ending a COVID-era program that's costing taxpayers billions in fraud. This legislation locks in over $600 billion in proven pro-growth, pro-America tax policies with key provisions that support over 21 million jobs. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation,” Smith continued in a statement Tuesday.And for those who file 1099 forms, a provision tucked away in the framework would increase the threshold to file to $1,000 from the current $600.The proposal won praise from across the tax policy spectrum.Business Roundtable, an advocacy organization representing a wide range of U.S. CEOs, described the deal's pitch to revive expired pro-business policies as “critical to strengthening America's global competitiveness.”Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and key supporter of the child tax credit, urged his colleagues to pass the deal, calling it a “win-win for Ohio families and Ohio manufacturers.”Sen. Brown said, “The deal's expansion of the Child Tax Credit will help parents keep up with the rising cost of living and ensure that their hard work pays off. The business provisions will support American companies that invest in our nation's research and manufacturing. The deal also ensures that residents of East Palestine won't get hit with a surprise tax bill for payments they received from Norfolk Southern after last year's derailment.”Pretty, pret-ty good. Welp that's it for me, from Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories in today's show can be found in the Missouri Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, Kansas Reflector and Michigan Advance. Thanks for listening, see you next time. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

Friday News Flyover, January 19, 2024Oil train delayed | Abortion rights advocates speak with Senators | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and GOP-dominated legislature's priorities | and OH Sen. Sherrod Brown and MO Rep. Jason Smith make big bi-partisan deal on Child Tax CreditIf you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com This train is not leaving the stationForest Service withdraws key permit for controversial Utah oil-train project opposed by ColoradansProject would dramatically increase hazardous shipments through Colorado communitiesBY: CHASE WOODRUFF - JANUARY 18, 2024 9:18 AMA controversial Utah oil-train proposal opposed by Colorado communities and environmentalists was dealt another blow this week when the U.S. Forest Service withdrew a key permit for the project.In an announcement published Wednesday, Ashley National Forest Supervisor Susan Eickhoff blocked the issuance of a permit to the Uinta Basin Railway to construct 12 miles of railroad track through a protected area of the national forest in northeast Utah. The stretch of track in question is part of the proposed railway's 88-mile connection between the oil fields of eastern Utah's Uinta Basin and the existing national rail network.The project has drawn fierce opposition from Coloradans. A federal “downline analysis” estimated that 90% of the resulting oil-train traffic — as many as five fully loaded, two-mile-long trains of crude oil tankers per day — would be routed through environmentally sensitive and densely populated areas in Colorado, en route to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. The oil trains would more than quadruple the amount of hazardous materials being shipped by rail through many Colorado counties.Colorado's Eagle County and five environmental groups sued to overturn the Uinta Basin Railway's approval, and in August 2023 a panel of federal judges ruled that the approval process contained “numerous” and “significant” violations of the National Environmental Policy Act. The ruling vacated portions of the project's environmental impact statement and ordered the federal Surface Transportation Board to redo its analysis of key environmental risks.Because the Forest Service's decision in August 2022 to grant a right-of-way permit to the project was based on that flawed analysis, the agency has withdrawn its decision pending further proceedings at the STB.Ted Zukoski, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to block the project. “This is wonderful news for the roadless forest in Utah's Indian Canyon and the wildlife who call it home. It's a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills. If the oil train's backers attempt to revive this dangerous scheme, we'll be there to fight it again.”In a press release, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who had urged multiple federal agencies to put a stop to the project, applauded the Forest Service's move.“A derailment along the headwaters of the Colorado River could have catastrophic effects for Colorado's communities, water, and environment. I'm glad the Forest Service has taken this important step to protect the Colorado River and the tens of millions of people who depend on it.”U.S. Senators and Abortion Rights Advocates Discuss State Abortion Access LimitationsBY: JENNIFER SHUTT - JANUARY 17, 2024WASHINGTON — During a Capitol Visitors Center briefing, abortion rights advocates and Democratic U.S. Senators called for reinstating legal and safe abortion access nationwide. The nearly three-hour session featured physicians discussing the difficulties faced in states with restrictive abortion laws following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN involved in a lawsuit against the state's abortion laws, spoke about the validity and personal nature of each abortion decision. He highlighted patients' fears about family planning in states with restrictive laws, noting the adverse impact on what should be a joyful life chapter.The briefing preceded the annual anti-abortion March for Life, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chris Smith scheduled to speak. Senate Democrats criticized efforts to limit abortion access and discussed two upcoming Supreme Court cases with significant implications.One case focuses on mifepristone, a key medication in abortion and miscarriage treatments, while the other revolves around the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The Biden administration argues that EMTALA should protect doctors performing abortions as emergency medical treatment in states with strict anti-abortion laws.Dr. Serina Floyd, a Washington, D.C. OB-GYN and Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow, expressed confusion over Republican efforts to target EMTALA, emphasizing the potential life-saving importance of emergency abortion care. She noted research indicating severe consequences for patients denied abortion access, including health risks, economic hardship, and staying in violent relationships.Dr. Floyd advocated for non-interference from the government in medical decisions, stressing that patients are capable of making informed choices about their health and lives with their healthcare providers.Senator Patty Murray of Washington highlighted her state's influx of abortion patients from restrictive states like Idaho. Murray and other senators at the briefing expressed concern that residents in states with abortion protections might not realize the impact of a potential nationwide abortion ban or Supreme Court decisions.Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan pointed out that even states with constitutional reproductive rights, like Michigan, are not fully shielded from the effects of a national abortion ban. After hearing doctors' testimonies, Stabenow expressed astonishment at the challenges facing both physicians and women needing abortion access, questioning the progress made in women's rights, asking, “is it 2024 or are we back in 1984?”Kansas Legislature Fast-Tracks Tax Reform Opposed by Governor KellyBY: TIM CARPENTER - JANUARY 17, 2024TOPEKA — Kansas Republican legislative leaders are expediting a tax reform bill focusing on income and sales tax changes, including a single-rate state income tax of 5.25%, which Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has threatened to veto.The bill, bypassing regular committee processes, is set for early-session debate in the Senate. The proposed tax overhaul would lead to a state revenue reduction exceeding $1.5 billion over three years, surpassing Governor Kelly's proposed $1 billion cut. The plan to implement a flat tax rate of 5.25%, replacing Kansas' three-rate income tax structure, has been met with opposition from Governor Kelly because it disproportionately benefits the wealthy.The bill also proposes eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits, aligning with Kelly's proposal. Additionally, it seeks to remove the state sales tax on groceries starting April 1, advancing the timeline from the previously set January 1, 2025. The measure includes an exemption for the first $100,000 in state property taxes from all Kansas homeowners for school finance purposes, adjustable for inflation.Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, view the bill as a compromise, claiming it addresses issues faced by retirees and families while tackling inflation.Governor Kelly vetoed two major tax reform bills in 2023, which the Republican-dominated Legislature couldn't override. “We must get that money back into Kansans' pockets — and we will —  in a fiscally responsible and targeted way,” Kelly said. “In a way that doesn't threaten progress on all the other issues Kansans care about.  Unfortunately, that's exactly what one proposal — the flat tax — would do. ”   Kansas' Governor Kelly calls for hearing on Medicaid expansion bill that would cover 150,000 KansansBY: RACHEL MIPRO - JANUARY 17, 2024 2:35 PM     TOPEKA — A Medicaid expansion proposal has been enrolled into state House and Senate committees despite continued opposition from top legislative Republicans. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who has spent the months leading up to the legislative session rallying across the state for Medicaid expansion, called for a hearing on the bill by Jan. 29. “It's easy to sum up the Cutting Healthcare Costs for All Kansans Act: health care coverage for 150,000 Kansans, cost savings for everyone else. We protect our rural hospitals, and Kansas taxpayers pay nothing extra,” Kelly said in a Wednesday announcement of the proposal's enrollment. “The legislature should listen to the over 70% of Kansans who support Medicaid Expansion and give this bill a hearing by Kansas Day.”  Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, introduced the bill in the House Appropriations Committee and on the Senate side, Sen. Pat Pettey, D- Kansas City, introduced the bill into the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “Medicaid expansion is not only popular, but it saves lives, creates jobs and saves our rural hospitals. Hardworking Kansans shouldn't die because of legislative inaction,” Miller said.Medicaid expansion would unlock $700 million in annual federal funding and could potentially save 59 rural hospitals at risk of closing. Kelly unveiled her latest Medicaid expansion package in December, but Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins remain opposed to expansion, calling the move a way to expand the “welfare state.” Lawmakers last came close to expansion in 2020, when former Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning worked out a bipartisan deal with Kelly. But the deal fell apart as Republicans, outraged by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, focused on placing a constitutional amendment on abortion before voters instead,Child Tax Credit and Business Incentives Merged in New Tax ProposalBY: ASHLEY MURRAY - JANUARY 16, 2024WASHINGTON — Leading members of Congress released a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal Tuesday, promising a middle-path deal to help low-income families and provide incentives for businesses as Trump-era tax breaks expire.The framework led by U.S. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri would raise the child tax credit incrementally through 2025 and restore tax relief for affordable housing projects.The three-year proposal would also make exempt disaster payments to wildfire victims and to those who suffered losses after the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Sen. Wyden, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in a statement that “(f)ifteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given today's miserable political climate, it's a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead.”Democrats have been pushing to permanently raise the tax credit that low-income families receive per child after a temporary increase during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated significant reductions in child poverty. Wyden also praised the deal's potential to spur affordable housing construction and said that his goal “remains to get this passed in time for families and businesses to benefit in this upcoming tax filing season, and I'm going to pull out all the stops to get that done.”Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said “American families will benefit from this bipartisan agreement that provides greater tax relief, strengthens Main Street businesses, boosts our competitiveness with China, and creates jobs.”“We even provide disaster relief and cut red tape for small businesses, while ending a COVID-era program that's costing taxpayers billions in fraud. This legislation locks in over $600 billion in proven pro-growth, pro-America tax policies with key provisions that support over 21 million jobs. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation,” Smith continued in a statement Tuesday.And for those who file 1099 forms, a provision tucked away in the framework would increase the threshold to file to $1,000 from the current $600.The proposal won praise from across the tax policy spectrum.Business Roundtable, an advocacy organization representing a wide range of U.S. CEOs, described the deal's pitch to revive expired pro-business policies as “critical to strengthening America's global competitiveness.”Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and key supporter of the child tax credit, urged his colleagues to pass the deal, calling it a “win-win for Ohio families and Ohio manufacturers.”Sen. Brown said, “The deal's expansion of the Child Tax Credit will help parents keep up with the rising cost of living and ensure that their hard work pays off. The business provisions will support American companies that invest in our nation's research and manufacturing. The deal also ensures that residents of East Palestine won't get hit with a surprise tax bill for payments they received from Norfolk Southern after last year's derailment.”Pretty, pret-ty good. Welp that's it for me, from Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories in today's show can be found in the Missouri Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, Kansas Reflector and Michigan Advance. Thanks for listening, see you next time. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

Friday Flyover of politics and elections news from America's heartland | TX GOP Rep Chip Roy says he'd boot MAGA Mike over funding bill | Missouri Sec of State on track to waste more money and lose more court cases | Lauren Boebert switches districts, CO GOP Rep Doug Lamborn announces retirementSOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Axios, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Independent, Fox17 WZTV Nashville, Iowa Capitol DispatchIs Speaker Mike Johnson Already on the way out? https://www.axios.com/2024/01/11/mike-johnson-house-speaker-motion-vacateFrom ArticleDriving the news: A dozen right-wing House Republicans blocked a package of their party's bills and ground the House floor to a sudden halt on Wednesday in protest of Johnson's spending deal with Senate Democrats.It's a repeat of of what hardliners did under former Speaker McCarthy over his bipartisan debt ceiling deal – which ultimately foreshadowed his removal months later through a motion to vacate.The move came as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has been flirting with the idea of trying to remove Johnson, saying in a radio interview on Tuesday: "If they totally botch [the appropriations bills] ... I don't know why we would keep him as speaker."One Republican leadership ally described the revolt as a "shot across the bow."Missouri AG and recent melted blob of flesh on CNN, Jay Ashcroft, gets smacked down in courthttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/judge-rejects-jay-ashcroft-s-bid-to-dismiss-high-profile-lawsuit-against-his-office/article_01f1fdc6-af1c-11ee-8076-27fdb2bf7fa8.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-shareComplaint https://business.cch.com/srd/20231023_SIFMA-v-Ashcroft_amended-complaint.pdfFrom the articleA federal judge rejected an effort by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to dismiss a lawsuit against his office over new, politically charged rules aimed at limiting the impact of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions.In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Steven Bough ruled unanimously in favor of a trade group that is suing the Republican gubernatorial candidate and his office on the grounds that the rule imposed by Ashcroft fails to acknowledge that federal law already requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients when providing personalized investment advice.“The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules violate the First Amendment,” Bough wrote. “The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules are unconstitutionally vague.”And Bough said the trade organization can continue its pursuit of the case because it has the legal standing to represent financial advisers who object to Ashcroft's rule.Ashcroft issued the rules — the first in the nation — after a similar “anti-woke” investing proposal died in the Legislature last year.Ashcroft, who is facing Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Bill Eigel in the August 2024 GOP primary, has used the lawsuit to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign, where culture war issues have played a prominent role.And, he is using taxpayer funds to pay a campaign donor to represent his office in the lawsuit.Instead of using the Missouri attorney general's office to fight the challenge to the rules, Ashcroft hired the politically connected Kansas City law firm of Graves Garrett to represent his office.Law firm partner Todd Graves, a former head of the Missouri Republican Party, was named to the University of Missouri board of trustees in 2021 and Greim was mentioned as a possible pick for attorney general when Eric Schmitt vacated the post to become U.S. senator in 2021.Greim also represented the Office of the Governor in 2018 when former Gov. Eric Greitens was under investigation for possible impeachment.Tennessee Dems Pushing Back on Abortion Bans With New Reproductive Rights BillsThe bill is sponsored by new Tenn. Dem. State rep, Aftyn Behn, who can be heard at length on this week's episode of the Dirt Road Democrat with Jess Piperhttps://fox17.com/news/local/2024-nashville-tennessee-rep-introduces-new-abortion-reproductive-rights-bill-politics-general-assembly-government-davidson-county-middle-tnFrom ArticleA new abortion bill aims to amend Tennessee's current law which bans the procedure in early stages of pregnancy.House Bill 1626 enacts the "Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act," meaning the state cannot interfere with abortion services because it falls under an individual's "fundamental right."The bill states every person has a right to make decisions about their reproductive health care, including "the fundamental right to use or refuse contraceptive procedures or contraceptive supplies as defined in 68-34-102." It adds a pregnant person has a right to continue a pregnancy or to terminate it. Michigan GOP Collapsing? https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/09/michigan-gop-is-collapsing-in-on-itself/From article:Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican party, said an effective new leader could help the party “right the ship” before the November 2024 elections, but that a drawn-out fight in court could hinder that progress.To date, the chaos engulfing the party has prevented it from fulfilling its traditional role of organizing and fundraising for Republican candidates, former party officials have said.“I think the chaos is far from over,” Roe said. “If this turns out to be a binding vote, I don't think she [Karamo] or her supporters will go quietly and there will probably continue to be skirmishes throughout the election cycle.” Boebert Says Bye Bye - Tucks Tail And Seeks Easier Path Back To DCIn a move stunning no one, CO GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, best known for her lewd and lascivious behavior, plus that time she cranked her dates honker in public, is running from the fight in her seemingly doomed reelection bid in the Colorado 3rd against Adam FrischArticle on THChttps://theheartlandcollective.com/2023/12/29/lauren-boebert-says-bye-bye-to-her-current-swing-district-and-hello-to-colorados-4th/Frisch was close to winning in 2022 and most assumed he would take the 2024 race against the highly damaged BoebertThe seat in the 3rd was home to Ken Buck who's own failed speaker bid was his last hurrah as he calls it quits. Missouri water way gets needed recognition, but for horrible reasonshttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/08/coldwater-creek-to-finally-have-warning-signs-after-decades-of-nuclear-contamination/Nuclear waste stored outside St. Louis was found to pose a risk to nearby Coldwater Creek as early as 1949. The contaminated creek will finally have warning signs almost 75 years later.From articleThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement Monday that it was working with the Environmental Protection Agency to add signs along the creek to help it monitor areas “that may pose a risk if disturbed.”Coldwater Creek has been contaminated for decades with radioactive waste left over from the World War II-era effort to build an atomic bomb. But though the creek winds through some of St. Louis' busiest suburbs and past public parks and schools, the federal government had resisted calls to post signs warning visitors of the contamination.“This is decades of potential exposure that could have been prevented that they drug their feet on,” said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, an organization formed to advocate for communities affected by St. Louis-area radioactive waste.Despite the delays, Chapman said she's thankful that the signs are finally going to be installed. The St. Louis area has long struggled with a radioactive waste problem. Uranium for the Manhattan Project, the name given to the effort to develop the first atomic bomb, was refined in downtown St. Louis.After World War II, radioactive waste left over from those efforts was trucked to the St. Louis airport and dumped — some on the open ground and some in barrels — next to Coldwater Creek. As early as 1949, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, the company that refined uranium for the federal government, was aware the waste could escape the barrels it was stored in and contaminate the nearby creekThe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded in 2019 that children and adults who played in or near Coldwater Creek or lived in its floodplain between the 1960s and 1990s may have been exposed to radioactive materials that raise the risk of certain cancers. The agency — part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — recommended signs be placed along the creek to warn residents of the potential exposure risk.The Army Corps said there was nothing specific that caused the agency to change its mind on installing the signs. The decision was “driven by our commitment to continuous improvement,” George Stringham, a spokesman for the Army Corps, said in an email. Stringham said the Army Corps would “continue to prioritize the health and safety of the community.”Iowa - Gov. proposed budget is a major cut for higher edhttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/10/gov-kim-reynolds-budget-for-state-universities-falls-30m-short-of-regents-request/From article: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed allocating about $30 million less than what the Iowa Board of Regents requested for itself and the universities next year, though each of the universities would receive some increase in state funding.Reynolds' budget proposal, released Monday, included recommendations for administering money from the state's general fund and other sources to the regents, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University. The regents requested just over $609 million from the state's general fund and about $40 million from other state sources. Reynolds recommended allocating almost $619 million.Colorado - Congresswoman Diana DeGette introduces discharge petition to ban high-capacity magazines:https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/degette-house-vote-high-capacity-magazine-ban/From article:U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette used a mechanism in the House of Representatives that would force a vote on a bill without leadership's approval to bring forward a vote on a gun safety bill. DeGette, who represents Denver in Congress, alongside House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Keep Americans Safe Act. The bill would ban large capacity magazines - those that can hold 30-100 rounds - with a few exceptions and will likely struggle to get through the Republican-controlled House.DeGette said high-capacity magazines were used in all of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the country. She said the only purpose of these magazines is to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. “These events continue to re-traumatize our community and our nation, because no community has been untouched by this deadly epidemic,” DeGette said. “In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high-capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people being killed and nearly 10 times as many people being wounded per incident on average.”The petition requires 218 signatures to force a vote on the floor, and with 213 Democrats in the House, at least five Republicans would need to sign. DeGette said she thinks some Republicans in the House represent districts impacted by mass shootings and may be under pressure from their constituents to ban high-capacity magazines. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat, joined DeGette and members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol after DeGette filed the petition and applauded Colorado leadership for its gun safety measures, particularly banning high-capacity magazines. “In Colorado, we are fortunate to have a state legislature focused on gun reform when Congress fails to make significant change due to Republican stonewalling over and over again,” Crow said. Crow highlighted several high-profile mass shootings in Colorado where the perpetrator used high capacity magazines: the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, the 2021 Boulder King Soopers shooting, and the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Closing Note: Doing anything this weekend?  @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/