Schrag’s first State of the City speech focused on several topics including recovery from the April 29 storm.
But Schrag dwelt on Springfield’s status as a growing five-county metro with roughly half a million residents. In Schrag’s telling, the Queen City at the core of that metro is dynamic, rising — and tied to regional growth.
"See, we’re not trying to become a different city," Schrag told the crowd of a few hundred Springfield business and community leaders. "We’re just trying to become the very best version of ourselves that we can be.”
Schrag cited work accomplished in the past including Springfield’s progress cutting crime, down 30 percent over the past decade, and poverty, down from 27.5 percent of city residents in 2015 to 19.4 percent today — a figure slightly lower than in peer cities like Fayetteville, Arkansas and Columbia, Missouri.
Speaking to a gaggle of reporters after the speech wrapped up — another contrast with the previous mayor — Schrag credited well-organized public-private partnerships with cutting Springfield poverty and said he wants that to continue: “But I think recognizing, number one, that we’re not done, and two, that we need to continue organizing the resources in the most efficient manner, those would be the two things that I want to do and focus on.”
Schrag also saluted Rep. Alex Riley from south Springfield’s District 134 for “tremendous leadership.” Riley is a conservative Republican who's served as House majority leader. He's seen by some as likely to be elected the next Missouri House Speaker. Schrag called the potential role “a big damn deal” not just for capitol politics, but for Springfield’s statewide stature.
“Nothing happens in that building that the Speaker doesn’t sign off on,” Schrag told reporters. “So that’s a really important thing to have that person be from Springfield, with the Springfield lens on legislation on different things.”
He noted that if elected by Missouri House members, Riley would be the second Speaker hailing from Springfield in recent years, following Rep. Elijah Haahr’s tenure from 2019 to 2021.
Schrag’s speech was studded with jokes about Springfield’s status as one of the U.S. communities with the least number of Millennials still living at home with their parents. But he ended in part with a rosy vision for Springfield’s future, lauding Springfield as “a city of strength and bold spirit.”
“We’re not just patching roads or passing ordinances,” Schrag said. “We are creating a place where every child has a shot, where every elder is cared for, where every person is treated equally and where every dream has a home.”
In keeping with tradition, the State of the City address was a ticketed Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce event held at Evangel University.
