Local lawmakers talk property taxes, entitlement programs, transgender athletes
Kirksville Daily Express
Local state lawmakers met in Kirksville on Friday as part of the Kirksville Chamber of Commerce’s State of the district discussion.
Cindy O’Laughlin, the District 18 state senator, Danny Busick, the District 3 representative, and Greg Sharpe, the District 4 representative, talked about legislation they are working on and other legislative topics.
Since they covered a multitude of topics, this will be a two-part series to cover what they said. This is Part 2, which covers property taxes, entitlement programs and transgender athletes.
Eliminating personal property taxes
A bill that would phase out personal property taxes over the next few years was defeated in the senate earlier in March. O’Laughlin, Busick and Sharpe all said they were against that legislation and the damages it could cause in rural areas.
‘It has been performing as designed’: High Prairie wind farm up and running in northeast Missouri
Kirksville Daily Express
It hasn’t been hard to notice the skyline changes in rural Adair and Schuyler counties as 175 wind turbines were installed over the last year.
Standing at 500 feet tall, with rotating blades that are each about 200 feet in length, the massive turbines are mixed in among crops and cattle. Those turbines are fully operational as part of Ameren Missouri’s High Prairie Renewable Energy Center, which straddles the two counties. The turbines can produce enough energy to power 120,000 homes.
Ameren hosted media and local officials for a tour of the facility on Thursday, showing what goes on behind the scenes and how the operation works.
Applications open for Kirksville City Council vacancy
Applications are now available for citizens interested in filling the vacancy on the Kirksville City Council.
Those applications can be found online at Kirksvillecity.com/CouncilApp and physical copies are located at the City Clerk’s Office inside City Hall. The process opened on Monday and the deadline to submit applications is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday, May 5.
In addition to the application, there is a statement of interest that must be filled out in the presence of the City Clerk or Deputy City Clerk. The statement of interest and application must be turned in to the City Clerk.
Local lawmakers talk education, Greenwood Center, Rieger Armory, fuel tax
Kirksville Daily Express
Local state lawmakers met in Kirksville on Friday as part of the Kirksville Chamber of Commerce’s State of the District discussion.
Cindy O’Laughlin, the District 18 state senator, Danny Busick, the District 3 representative, and Greg Sharpe, the District 4 representative, talked about legislation they are working on and other legislative topics.
Since they covered a multitude of issues, this will be a two-part series to cover what they said. This is Part 1, which covers education, ongoing work at the Greenwood Center Project and Rieger Armory, and a potential fuel tax.
Kirksville close to hiring next chief of police
Kirksville officials are moving forward to hire a new police chief within the next few weeks.
City Manager Mari Macomber did preliminary Zoom interviews with about 16 candidates over the last few weeks. Now three finalists will soon visit Kirksville for additional interviews. Macomber said she hopes to have someone hired by mid-May.
The position is open following the unexpected death of Steve Farnsworth last October. Farnsworth began in that role in 2019 after the retirement of Jim Hughes.
Justin Jones, Farnsworth’s deputy chief, has served as the interim chief since Farnsworth’s passing. Macomber said Jones didn’t apply for the police chief position and will remain as the deputy chief once someone is hired. Macomber said the three final candidates are all external people with many years of previous law enforcement experience.