MOScout Daily Update: More 2022 Names - More Hospitals Feel COVID Pinch - Women in the Senate - Public School Enrollment Drop and more...

More 2022 Talk

·         U.S. Senate: An especially thin Democratic bench has Jason Kander’s name in a very small pool of possibilities.  But Kander might not want to dive back into the rough-and-tumble political world again.  Another name being mentioned… St. Louis County Executive Sam Page.

·         Auditor:  On social media Saundra McDowell teases a possible second bid for the office.  “Did you vote on if I should run again for State Auditor in 2022?? Out of the votes that were cast, 98% were YES!!!  Here are the people who voted against another run for State Auditor:  nothing but trolls, people who don’t want audited and Parson Pawns!!” McDowell lost to Nicole Galloway by 6 points in 208.

·         And, one Republican wonders if Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be their best candidate for auditor. “That office rewards attention to detail and independence.  No one better at either than Fitzpatrick.”  If he won, it would give yet another statewide appointment to Governor Mike Parson.

·         CD-7: One lobbyist thinks we could see Sen. Eric Burlison as a formidable congressional candidate.  It’d be hard to get to the right of Burly.  But he would have to give up his Senate seat for the run.  And all of this speculation is contingent on Congressman Billy Long not running again.

Driving the Day: Gov Presser

9AM: “Governor Mike Parson will hold a briefing to provide updates on COVID-19, vaccine developments, K-12 school guidance, and special session.”

·         Look for an official proclamation expanding special session to cover COVID liability.

·         And Jaclyn Driscoll reports that the school guidance change is that “students will no longer need to quarantine if the infected person they came into contact with was wearing a mask.”

Record Number of Women in Senate

I am not an historian, but I have to assume that next session’s number of women in the Senate chamber is a record.  Nearly a third of the body will be women, 11 of the 34 senators.  Incoming Sen-elects Elaine Gannon, Barbara Washington, Angela Mosley, Holly Rehder, and Karla Eslinger join Sens. Karla May, Jeanie Riddle, Lauren Arthur, Cindy O’Laughlin, Jill Schupp, and Sandy Crawford

And a majority of them, 6 of the 11, will be Republicans.

Not Just STL Hospitals Feeling the Strain

News Tribune reports that “the increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations in November is dire, and Capital Region Medical Center is asking the community to help slow the spread of the virus…”

Updated IE PAC List

I’ve updated the IE PAC list.  Find it here.  New additions include PACs for Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (Six Pack PAC) and Rep. Brenda Shields (Lewis and Clark Leadership PAC).

Public School Enrollment Drops

Post-Dispatch reports on public school enrollment during the pandemic.  See it here.

Public school enrollment across Missouri is down by nearly 27,500 students this fall compared to the 2019-2020 school year. The majority of the decrease came from preschool and kindergarten classes, and the drop was bigger in areas such as St. Louis city and county, where most districts started the year fully virtual.

“We’re exploring whether those students shifted to homeschooling, if they’re now attending a private school that may be offering onsite learning opportunities unlike their public school, or have they simply just not enrolled yet,” said Mallory McGowin, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The historic 3.2% statewide drop, to 872,470 students in public preschool through 12th grade, follows annual rate decreases of less than 1% since reaching 900,781 students in 2007. Enrollment in public preschool fell by 31%, and kindergarten by nearly 10% across Missouri…

Enrollment determines government funding for schools, but state law allows public districts to use the higher attendance count from the previous two years in its funding formula. That means steep budget cuts and layoffs could hit next year if districts don’t lure students back in 2021, McGowin said.

Lobbyists Registrations

Tracy King added Group XI Health LLC, Concierge Testing Solutions LLC, County of Jefferson, Independence Power & Light, Property Assessment Review, BJG Cattle Co, City of Arnold, Maco Development Company LLC, Missouri Alliance For Animal Legislation, Phoenix Home Care, Sterling Bank, and Supermarket Merchandising.      

Thomas Robbins and Steven Tilley added Koch Industries, Inc; and deleted Stepstone LLC, TBPKM LLC, and AM Medical Marketing LLC.

Thomas Robbins deleted Gateway Green LLC.

Steven Tilley deleted CanMedLabs LLC.

Elizabeth Lauber deleted Wings of Hope.

$5K+ Contributions

MO Republican Party - $11,750 from Forrest Lucas.

Taking KC Back - $7,735 from Shannon Bjornlie.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Matt Hill.