MOScout Daily Update: Sparks to Trump Administration - Rural Healthcare Plan Unveiled - Hemp Battles Ahead - SBOE’s Missing Teacher and more…

Breaking… Sparks to Trump Administration

Rep. Justin Sparks will be resigning from the legislature to take a position with the Trump Administration in the Department of Homeland Security.

Last year, Sparks launched a challenge against Jon Patterson for the speakership, creating a mini-brouhaha among the House Republican Caucus. 

Sparks is vice-chair of the Missouri Free Caucus, which cheered the news in a press release… Representative Sparks joins other alumni of the MOFC that have continued their great success outside of the Missouri House and Senate, namely Congressman Eric Burlison, Congressman Bob Onder, and Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.

Rural Healthcare Plan

Missouri’s application for the Rural Health Transformation Program lays out the state’s plan for use of the RHTP federal funds.  See the application here.

Here are some general contours of the plan.

·       99 counties plus 5 “rural-adjacent counties (Buchanan, Cape Girardeau, Christian, Jasper, and Newton serving as regional anchors for healthcare capacity) will be targeted by the plan.  That’s 104 out of Missouri’s 114 counties.  About 2.5 million of Missouri’s 6 million residents are in those counties.

·       A new Rural Health Transformation Office (RHTO) will oversee the initiative.

·       Missouri will establish a network of 30 Local Community Hubs (“Hubs”) linked through seven Regional Coordinating Networks (RCNs)… Each Hub will bring together partners comprised of hospitals, FQHCs, behavioral health agencies, pharmacies, EMS, LPHAs, and community-based organizations, with one serving as lead convener. RHTP funds (and shared savings) will flow only to providers and organizations participating in their Hub, reinforcing collaboration and adoption of the model…

·       The plan promises a “transition to payment models that reward outcomes rather than volume.”

·       The plan will build out a “digital backbone.” Missouri’s rural health systems are rich in data but are fragmented across multiple, disconnected electronic platforms… Missouri will launch a Rural Health Data Collaborative that integrates HL7-compliant data from all provider access points such as hospitals, primary care providers, pharmacies, and digital tools into statewide systems to ensure data-driven decision making, continuity of care and improved health quality and outcomes.

·       The plan will initiate a Rural Health Workforce Program which includes, among other items, “expanding healthcare-focused Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in rural high schools and post-secondary sites.”

Hemp Battles Will Continue in MO

Save Missouri Hemp PAC was formed.

This comes in the aftermath of the passage of new federal regulations as part of the legislation ending the government shutdown.

According to the Missouri Independent, “state officials estimated last year that 40,000 food establishments and smoke shops and 1,800 food manufacturers were selling products that would be banned under the proposed federal regulations.”

However, that federal provision doesn’t take effect until November of 2026.  It’s expected, in the meantime, that the “hemp industry will go to war” to try to reverse this.

And there could be state-level skirmishes as well.  Some will seek to bring Missouri laws in line with the new federal regs so if they are overturned, the state has similar prohibitions in place.  But hemp business owners will fight to preserve the state status quo.

·       According to Save Missouri Hemp’s filing, MO Hemp Trade Association is the organization behind the PAC.  It’s represented in Jefferson City by Jake Silverman.

Missing Teacher on SBOE

In a recent post, the Missouri NEA points to the absence of a teacher representative on the State Board of Education.

In 2018, the General Assembly passed Section 161.026 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, which added a teacher representative to the State Board of Education. That seat has remained vacant since 2018. Seven years. No practicing teacher on the board.

With a majority of newly appointed members, the gap feels more pronounced than ever. Teachers should be at the decision-making table when classroom policies are debated and approved. Currently, they are not.

BetMissouri’s Guesstimate

BetMissouri offers its tax projection for first year of sports betting in Missouri.  See it here.

From Dec. 1, 2025, to Nov. 30, 2026, BetMissouri.com forecasts that the state will receive approximately $48.5 million in tax revenue. Based on the constitutional amendment voters approved a year ago, that money (after the state covers the cost to regulate the industry and withhold $5 million for problem gambling) will help fund education institutions across the state.

How did we get to that amount? For starters, we pegged the first-year Missouri sports betting handle projection at $3.88 billion. Handle means the amount of money bettors risk.

From there, we estimated a hold rate, also known as a win rate, of 12.5%. Historically, sports betting has been a low-hold game, at around 7% as an average. But thanks to the increase in parlay wagering – which means riskier all-or-nothing bets that require all legs to win for the bet to pay out – that rate has risen in recent years. At 12.5% hold, operators would generate about $485 million in revenue.

·       The Missouri Auditor’s office has projected revenues of up to $29 million.

Help Wanted

Saint Louis Zoo seeks Director, Government Affairs. The Saint Louis Zoo is looking for a dynamic team member to help lead our Government Affairs work.  The Director of Government Affairs will continue to develop and lead the Zoo's government relations strategy at the federal, state, and local levels... Together with the Zoo’s external government affairs consulting firms/lobbyists, the Director monitors and analyzes legislative and regulatory developments, manages lobbying efforts, and advises the Zoo’s leadership on relevant policy matters… See the posting here.

·       The Saint Louis Zoo is represented in Jefferson City by Gamble Schlemeier.

$5K+ Contributions

MFR PAC - $15,000 from CPC of Missouri LLC.

Lobbyist Registrations

Chris Liese, Jim Foley, Andrew Foley, Joe Bruns, Tony Dugger, and Craig Redmon added Twenty Holdings, Inc.     

Jeff Glenn added Benefits Foresight LLC.

David Winton, Jessica Petrie, and Matthew Thompson added City of Maryland Heights.

Holly Rehder added Partnership for Innovative Action.      

Sherry Doctorian deleted Ash Grove Cement Company, and TCC Software Solutions.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthdays to Bill Eigel, Ryan Nonnemaker, and Dennis Wood.