MOScout Daily Update: Butz Starts TV - Data Center Politics - Pollitt Raised $50K - World Cup Begins and more…
Senate 4: Butz Starts TV
Rep. Steve Butz will start streaming TV ads today. See the ad here.
Meet Democrat Steve Butz. Family man, successful business owner, community leader. As our state rep, Steve Butz stands up to Trump and MAGA extremists. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Steve voted to expand Medicaid, sponsored a red flag law to keep guns out of dangerous hands, and helped teachers get the biggest raise in a generation.
Now Steve's running for state senate to do what Trump’s MAGA buddies won’t do: protect healthcare, lower costs, and improve our schools. Steve Butz, fighting for us.
No ifs, ands, or buts. Okay, maybe a little Butz.
What It Means
Butz has established a fundraising lead against his challenger, Gina Mitten, giving him the ability to get his message out first.
· Team Mitten has telegraphed their playbook: they’ll be saying he’s not a real Democrat.
· But Team Butz is hoping that by getting out first – together with Butz’ workaholic ground game – he’ll be inoculated against the attacks. We’ll see…
Senate 20: Farm Bureau Backs Trent
Sen. Curtis Trent landed the latest Farm Bureau endorsement. “He is known as a thoughtful leader and is trusted to handle the most complex issues facing the state. His experience has allowed him to help navigate many of Farm Bureau’s priorities across the finish line.”
· Trent faces a primary challenge from Lori Rook.
Senate 28: Pollitt Fundy Hauls $50K
Rep. Brad Pollitt’s fundraiser last night in Sedalia is said to have brought in $50,000 for his campaign. Governor Mike Kehoe addressed the packed crowd.
Data Center Politics
Data centers have quickly become a hot-button issue in Missouri.
· Post-Dispatch: The Festus City Council has been roiled after citizens furious with a data center approval gathered recall signatures. “The four citizen resolutions that would have triggered recall elections against the mayor and three other council members, all proponents of a controversial $6 billion data center proposal on the city’s outskirts.”
· Springfield News-Leader: Stone County leaders have decided to place a year-long moratorium on data centers and similar projects… The planning commission approved it unanimously.
· Springfield Daily Citizen: A special portion of the Webster County Commission meeting that would address a proposed data center was moved to Marshfield High School to accommodate a much larger-than-normal crowd. The turnout was even higher than anticipated... The high school auditorium was packed like sardines with about 800 people…
· St. Louis Public Radio: The St. Charles City Council banned data centers. “The 7-1 vote makes permanent a one-year moratorium on proposals that was put in place in the fall, in part due to widespread community opposition to a $1 billion data center proposal for a site off Highway 370… Residents have consistently vocalized opposition to the developments, largely citing environmental concerns.”
Why It Matters
This is an issue which is organically generating large crowds full of passionate people. Politicians are wary of being on the wrong side of this populist issue, as it could create some unpredictable outcomes.
Meanwhile
Google is pledging “water stewardship commitments as a promise to responsibly manage vital water resources where [they] build and operate data centers… The aggregate water consumption of data centers is small — U.S. data centers use less than 1% of the water that Americans use on their lawns annually but we are focused on protecting local water resources in all aspects of our data center operations.”
· Missouri is listed among the new “water stewardship initiatives.”
Can A-F Grades Tell Parents What Matters?
I thought of Missouri’s pursuit of an A-F grading system for schools when I came across a recent discussion paper (not yet peer-reviewed) which looked at parents making school choice decisions in Los Angeles.
There’s a problem of parents being able to separate which schools are actually effective versus which ones just have high-achieving students attending them to begin with. The paper found when parents in Los Angeles received information separating school effectiveness from “peer quality,” they shifted toward those schools. Their children then enrolled in better schools, had higher test scores, better socio-emotional outcomes, and higher college enrollment.
In this regard, the governor’s A-F grading initiative could be a positive – assuming it captures effectiveness. If it becomes just another reputation signal, it won’t add value.
WSJ on WashU’s SpaceX Stake and KC’s Soccer Bona Fides
The Wall Street Journal had a pair of interesting articles yesterday…
On college endowments benefiting from SpaceX’s IPO: SpaceX makes up at least a midteens percentage of the endowment of Washington University in St. Louis, said a person familiar with the matter. The endowment, $13.4 billion as of June 30, made a call to put money into SpaceX in 2018, investing alongside Vy Capital, but also has exposure through multiple managers who invested in SpaceX.
On Kansas City’s soccer appeal: All four [teams – Algeria, Argentina, England, and the Netherlands] of them reached the same conclusion: Kansas City happens to boast a raft of elite-level training grounds, a temperate climate and a central location… The last time the World Cup came to the U.S., in 1994, Kansas City wasn’t awarded a single game. But in the decades since, hundreds of millions of investment into soccer infrastructure have turned it into one of America’s soccer capitals.
World Cup Bar Hours
As we stand on the eve of the World Cup, a reminder – some bars can be open 23 hours a day now…
311.2026. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, any person or establishment possessing the qualifications and meeting the requirements of this chapter that is licensed to sell intoxicating liquor by the drink at retail for consumption on the premises in any city, county, district, or other political subdivision in this state may, for the duration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Tournament, beginning on June 11, 2026, through July 19, 2026, operate twenty-four hours a day and sell, serve, and allow for the consumption of alcoholic beverages between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day… This section shall expire on July 20, 2026.
Mosley Back On
I’m told that Janay Mosley will be on the ballot after all in House 68, in a Democratic primary against Rep. Kem Smith.
The court entered an order initially disqualifying Mosley on June 1 and ordered her removed from ballot. On June 5, court entered an order setting aside original judgment due to issues with Mosley being properly served. Next hearing isn’t until June 12, which is beyond deadline for removing a candidate.
Law and Order
Lobbyist Bev Ehlen is in the May 31- June 6 list of arrestees from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
Lobbyist Registrations
Ashlie Kuehn deleted Cigna Healthcare.
$5K+ Contributions
Rural Missouri Values PAC (pro-Lewis) - $25,000 from NEMO Leadership PAC.
Great Northwest PAC (Pro-Rusty Black) - $10,000 from Health PAC.
Missouri American Water Company Employees PAC - $10,000 from Korte & Luitjohan (Highland, IL).
Robert Hussey For Office - $45,000 from Robert Hussey.
MO Leadership Committee - $13,000 from Thomas R Burcham III LLC.
MO Leadership Committee - $12,000 from Thomas R Burcham III LLC.
Political Action Committee for Health - HEALTHPAC - $10,000 from Associated Purchasing Services Corporation (Topeka, KS).
Baird For Jackson County - $25,000 from Missouri and Kansas Laborers PAC.
Baird For Jackson County - $25,000 from Heavy Construction Laborers Local Union #663 PAC.
Services for Alsager
Read the obituary for Matt Alsager here.
Matt will be remembered for his generous heart, his ability to bring people together, his devotion to family and faith, and the countless lives he touched through his friendship, leadership, and encouragement.
A prayer service will be held at 3PM Friday, June 12, at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 400 St. Andrew Drive, Holts Summit, Mo. 65043. Visitation will follow the prayer service from 4PM to 7PM Friday at St. Andrew Catholic Church.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 10AM Saturday, June 13, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 1206 E. McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101.