Sikeston entrepreneur enters race for Mo. House

SIKESTON, MO (KRCU) - A Sikeston entrepreneur entered the ring to take Ellen Brandom’s place in the Missouri House of Representatives. Holly Rehder will seek the Republican nomination in Missouri’s 160th District, which covers New Madrid, Scott and parts of Cape Girardeau County.

Rehder owns and runs Integrity Communication with her husband in Sikeston. She thinks her business experience will be an asset in the General Assembly.

"We all know that small business is the engine of our economy and right now the economy is what needs to be focused on," Rehder said. "And when we have, you know, certain lawmakers who don’t mind putting more regulation and more regulation on the back of small businesses, it’s just crushing us. And I think we need more people who have more skin in the game who don’t mind to stand there and fight and hold the line."

Rehder has also served as a staffer for Jo Ann Emerson. She says that she holds Emerson and Ellen Brandom as political models and mentors.

Brandom is seeking to replace Jason Crowell in Missouri Senate. Crowell cannot run again due to term limits, though he is considering a run for state-wide office.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Corps to rebuild Birds Point levee

The Army Corps of Engineers is going to rebuild the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway levee.

In a written statement, Governor Jay Nixon said that he had spoken to Major General Michael Walsh about the decision to rebuild the three breach points in the levee.

The decision allows a certain level of protection for farmers who have already begun to work the fields in the floodway.

And the Corps may have some extra money to work with. Representative Jo Ann Emerson said that one billion dollars in funding has been added to the House Energy and Water Appropriations Act, including nearly 560 million dollars for the lower Mississippi River and tributaries, which includes Birds Point. The bill could be voted on within a month. If passed, the funds would be available on October 1.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Corps wants to partner with local, state agencies to rebuild Birds Point

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Army Corps of Engineers is looking to partner with local and state leadership to repair the Birds Point levee in Mississippi and New Madrid Counties.

Governor Jay Nixon made available 3 million dollars in state funds to build a temporary levee this year. The Corps’ timeline would rebuild the levee by February or March of 2012.

Major General Bo Temple is the Army Corps of Engineer’s acting chief of engineers. He toured the floodway on Thursday with Representative Jo Ann Emerson and Colonel Vernie Reichling of the Corps’ Memphis District.

Major General Temple said he discussed Nixon’s offer with him over lunch.

"As local entities determine how they might be able to contribute to this effort to begin to restore the levees, we will work in partnership with them through what we call our 404 process, which is a local preferred solution to an issue, to work in partnership with the state and local entities to address those," Temple said.

Levee districts are proposing their levee plans to the Memphis District of the Army Corps of Engineers today and Monday, according to Representative Emerson.

Major General Temple did not rule out the possibility of installing a gate at Birds Point in the future. But he said that decision will not be made until initial repairs are made and the system is restored to its designed specifications.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Corps to rebuild Birds Point levee

The Army Corps of Engineers says that the Birds Point-New Madrid spillway levee will be restored.

In a letter to Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, established a timeline for rebuilding the levee system.

In the letter, Darcy said that water should recede within 40 to 60 days without further rainfall. The land will need another 21 to 30 day to dry. After the drying out period, the Corps would make an assessment to determine the extent of restoration.

Representative Emerson called the Birds Point operation, “a deeply painful experience for thousands of people.” She says that the Corps’ commitment to rebuild is the first good news about the levee in a long time.

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Emerson suggests barring taxpayer funds IPCC

Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-R) joined legislation on Friday that would bar taxpayer funds for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In press release, Emerson calls support of the IPCC a “wasteful idea” and that “We ought to hold the publication of scientific data to the highest standard, especially when there is an implied endorsement of the quality of data on climate change by the government.”

Emerson cites criticism of the IPCC for fabricating scientific data on climate change.

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-R), who presents Missouri's 9th Congressional District, sponsored the bill.

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Emerson on nuclear power, Libya

JACKSON, MO (KRCU) - U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson remains undeterred in her support of nuclear energy.

Despite the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, the Southeast Missouri Republican believes that nuclear power should remain a vital part of the United States’ energy portfolio.

Speaking after a Jackson Kiwanis Club meeting on Thursday, Emerson said that plants should only be built in areas that are far from strong seismic activity and are not prone to tsunamis. The tricky part comes in dealing with used fuel rods.

“Do you recycle them, which the European countries do and you just use them over and over again? Or do you continue trying to store them in Yucca Mountain, which is not going to happen at least at this point in time,” Emerson says.

Emerson believes that recycling nuclear rods holds promise in the future.

On the topic of Libya, Emerson isn’t sure what to make of President Barack Obama’s decision to join U.N. and Arab League forces to implement a no-fly zone over Libya.

While Presidents have historically engaged in military actions without Congressional approval, Emerson is distraught that the administration chose to get involved in Libya so quickly.

“The President had not outlined a goal or a mission, or an objective. He hadn’t really indicated how long this might take, or exactly what it might involve. And I don’t see any strategic importance to our country in the country of Libya,” Emerson says.

Emerson mentions that she is frustrated by the administration’s lack of communication and coordination with Congress on foreign affairs.

Emerson also met with constituents in Advance, Marble Hill, and Piedmont.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Emerson says 'No' to Senate campaign

The list of Claire McCaskill’s potential GOP opponents shrank on Tuesday.

Jo Ann Emerson decided against a bid for the Senate, citing her belief that she could do more in her current position chairing a House Appropriations Subcommittee than as a junior Senator.

Missouri GOP executive director Lloyd Smith spoke with Emerson regularly about her potential candidacy. He advised her that a Senate run would require a massive time commitment for fundraising, campaigning, and grassroots organization.

"I told her I thought she could do all of those things, but it would be difficult in her role as a new subcommittee chair and do all those things well and do her subcommittee chairmanship as well," Smith said.

"It would stretch her very thin," he continued. "And I think being in the majority now, or being in the majority again, having this particular position is going to give her an opportunity to define some policy decisions and re-define policy decisions that have been made by the Obama administration and the Democrats that were in control of the House."

Former state treasurer Sarah Steelman and attorney Ed Martin are the only two declared Republican candidates.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Emerson may run for Senate in 2012

In an interview for KRCU’s Going Public, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson says that she is considering a run for the US Senate in 2012.

Emerson chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. If she chooses to run, she would face Ed Martin and Sarah Steelman in the Republican primary. The winner will challenge incumbent Claire McCaskill.

Emerson says that she is not going to rush into a decision.

"In between everything else, I may think about it here for the next several weeks," she says.

Also in the interview, Emerson says that she favors repeal of last year’s health care overhaul law instead of eliminating parts of it piece-by-piece.

"I think that the whole complexity of the health care law really does require repeal and then to write a new law that encompasses all of those things that I think we agree on."

Those things that can be agreed upon, she says, include extending coverage to children up to 26 years old and the ability to get affordable insurance in spite of pre-existing conditions.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Emerson applauds e-filing program

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Many Missouri taxpayer will have a free option for filing their taxes this year. The Missouri Free File program will allow moderate to low-income earners to take advantage of free e-filing software. 

U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) met with members of community-based organizations for a free training seminar on how to use the software. The organizations typically work with individuals who are eligible for the program.

The web-based application was developed by private companies, such as Intuit, for use by federal and state governments. Representative Emerson lauded the private-public partnership as a model for making government more efficient.

“Relying on the government to become technologically superior is an oxymoron. It just doesn’t work. But the private sector does, and that’s where all the creativity and innovation is,” Emerson said.

Emerson also visited RM Coco in the afternoon.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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