Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe said Missouri has a story worth telling. He spoke Wednesday at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce “State of the State” event.
During his speech, Kehoe touted advancements in several key areas, including public safety.
Public safety
"This year, we continued strengthening partnerships with law enforcement, first responders and local communities," he said.
He praised the Missouri National Guard and state and local law enforcement who he said came together to help people affected by recent flooding in southern Missouri. At one point, dozens of kids and several adults were stranded at Camp Taum Sauk, and state officials reached out to the National Guard to see if they happened to have any Blackhawk helicopters available.
The general said, '" well, actually, we're training this week,' " said Kehoe. "And I said, 'I've got a new place for the training.' So, we evacuated all 167 kids and 30 adults in Taum Sauk Camp within an hour and 45 minutes of notice — of knowing that they needed help and got them to a safer place to reunite with their families. And Missouri has never been prouder."
According to Kehoe, the National Guard just happened to be training in Blackhawk helicopters at the time, and they used them to evacuate the campers.
He pointed to an increase in Blue Shield cities – cities recognized for their dedication to effective law enforcement and community safety.
The economy
He also talked about economic growth in the state, saying Missouri has continued to attract employers from around the world while supporting existing businesses.
"We're seeing investments in manufacturing, technology, logistics, agriculture and advanced industries," he said, "because businesses know what Missourians have known for a long time. Our workforce is strong, our location is unmatched, and our infrastructure continues to improve."
Education
He said education plays an important role in the state's future and that every student deserves the chance to succeed. He added that "every parent deserves confidence that their child is receiving the quality education and every employer deserves a workforce that's prepared for the jobs of tomorrow."
That means "supporting strong schools, expanding workforce training and creating pathways that connect education with careers," said Kehoe.
He said they'll continue to support and invest in students, teachers and communities "to make our education system much, much stronger."
St. Louis Public Radio reported in May that the state budget passed by the legislature did not fully fund K-12 public education for the first time in years.
Amendment 5
Kehoe also took the opportunity to push Amendment 5, which would eliminate the state’s income tax – something that’s long been one of his priorities.
Those who oppose Amendment 5 argue that eliminating Missouri’s sales tax would shift the tax burden to those who can least afford it. Approximately $9 billion would be lost from the state’s general revenue fund if the income tax goes away.
Kehoe said during his speech, "eliminating the income tax isn’t about runaway taxes.". Afterwards, during an interview with reporters, he said sales taxes wouldn’t necessarily have to go up to make up the hole left by eliminating the income tax, but they would be widened “because there’s e-commerce world that we live in now that nobody ever thought of capturing sales tax on because it wasn’t a thing 20 years ago, much less 100 years ago. But I would leave that up to the General Assembly. But the protection is if they have to increase the sales tax, it can’t be runaway because it can never go up more than what it takes to offset the income tax, so there is a protection there for Missourians.”
Amy Blouin, executive director of the Missouri Budget Project, told KSMU that, if Amendment 5 passes, residents will eventually see much higher sales taxes on things they use every day.
The primary election is August 4, but in-person, no-excuse absentee voting is taking place now.
Data centers
Kehoe was asked about data centers by a Springfield News-Leader journalist during the media opportunity.
He said data centers have a place in the state, but they must be right for the community.
Missouri recently announced that Amazon is investing $10 billion to build a new data center campus in Montgomery County, and Google is investing $15 billion to build infrastructure in that same county, including a data center.
Kehoe called the investments generational changes that communities may never see again.
“It has to be done responsibly. I would encourage people to research some of the facts actually surrounding these projects because there’s a lot of misinformation out there," he said. "And so, that’s – what you have to balance is this once in a lifetime generational investment in your community, work for the residents of your community, and address those concerns.”
Kehoe claimed there will only be a few spots around the state that end up being the right locations for data centers. He said, "there’s not going to be a data center in every corner."
