Category Archives: Environment

By Don Corrigan

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Attorney General Andrew Bailey took victory laps last week when the Department of Energy defunded a long-awaited Grain Belt Express electric transmission line through the state.

The $4.9 billion loan guarantee given to the developers of the Grain Belt Express has been canceled, but cities such as Kirkwood, Farmington, Hannibal and Rolla continue to look forward to receiving the line‘s cleaner energy at some point in the future.

Kirkwood Electric Director Mark Petty has long predicted that cheaper, green energy would be in Kirkwood’s future once the utility line delivering Kansas wind turbine energy got past some political and landowner objections. That future may now be delayed.

Both Hawley and Bailey claimed they were major players in tripping up the future of the transmission line. Hawley has referred to the Grain Belt Express project as a “green scam,” a “boondoggle loan,” and as an “elitist land grab.”

Bailey said the project was sold to the people of Missouri as some kind of “Green New Deal,” but that he had forced “a positive first step” in ending the project altogether. He blasted eminent domain use in securing farm property for transmission lines.

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By Don Corrigan

Kirkwood Electric Director Mark Petty has long been a supporter of the green energy that could be supplied by the Grain Belt Express transmission line proposed to come through Missouri.

In 2022, Petty optimistically predicted that cheaper, green energy would be in Kirkwood’s future once the utility line delivering Kansas wind turbine energy got past some political and landowner objections.

Those obstacles continue. Now Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has thrown up additional roadblocks with his accusations that the Grain Belt line developer through the state may be supplying fraudulent energy information. Bailey wants an investigation.

A Grain Belt Express spokesperson for the Invenergy Company has responded to Bailey’s charges with obvious indignation.

“We should be building energy infrastructure in America, but the Missouri Attorney General is instead playing politics with U.S. power,” said Martin Grego, a project spokesperson.

“Electricity demand is rising across the country, and we urgently need transmission infrastructure to deliver power,” added Grego. “Projects like Grain Belt Express are the answer to providing all forms of affordable and reliable electricity to U.S. consumers.”

In a memorandum to the Missouri Public Service Commission, Bailey accused Grain Belt of supplying “at best speculative and faulty, or at worst intentionally fraudulent information in their application (for the project), including in their impact analysis.”

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PHOTO: Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signs into law a bill to address the spread of invasive plants in the state amid supporters of the legislation passed in the 2025 statehouse session.

by Don Corrigan

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on June 14 signed a law halting sale in the state of six invasive plants. They are:  sericea lespedeza, burning bush, Callery pear, Japanese honeysuckle, perilla mint, and wintercreeper.

Implementation date for the legislation is Aug. 28 The legislation allows four plants in the bill to continue to be sold through Jan. 1, 2027, and two others to be sold through Jan. 1, 2029, to mitigate revenue losses for plant sellers, who may have an inventory of some species.

“The Missouri Invasive Plant Council is extremely pleased with this wonderful news and thanks Gov. Kehoe and Missouri legislators for their support of this bill,” said Carol Davit, chairperson of the Missouri Invasive Plant Council.

“The bill will help protect Missouri’s working lands and native habitats from these harmful invasives,” Davit added.

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By Don Corrigan                        

It’s easy to think that renewable energy has hit a wall both in Missouri and nationally. Political forces have aligned like the planets, at all levels, to declare war on green energy.

Not every environmentalist is glum, however. There’s a silver lining out there somewhere. Even so, the prospects for renewables do not look very bright at this point in 2025.

Consider that:

• Billions in budget subsidies have been cut for home solar and energy efficiencies
• Wind and solar energy projects will be shut down and new ventures are shuttered.

• Congress has passed bills to support a revival of mining and drilling in America.

• Missouri has a statehouse majority that has signed onto more mining and drilling.
• A 2008 initiative passed by voters to encourage renewables is largely forgotten.

Also in Missouri, Attorney General Andrew Bailey has declared war on the Grain Belt Express transmission line to deliver green energy throughout the state. The powerline to deliver wind-generated electricity from Kansas, through Missouri to Indiana has faced roadblocks before.

Cities in Missouri that were looking forward to buying cheaper, greener electricity are frustrated. Among the cities waiting on Grain Belt Express transmission line completion are Columbia, Hermann, Kirkwood, Hannibal and more than 30 other municipalities.

In 2008, Missouri voters passed Proposition C by a whopping 66% to 34% margin. Proposition C requires that Missouri utilities expand investment in clean energy sources like wind and solar to reach renewable energy targets.

Despite that overwhelming popular support for clean energy, leadership in the Missouri legislature failed to carry out the will of the people by supporting and accelerating clean energy expansion.

Even though the cost and environmental advantages of clean energy has overcome  the lack of political will in many other U.S. states, legislative inaction in Missouri has slowed clean energy expansion.

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By Don Corrigan

The May 16 St. Louis tornado resulted in 5 deaths, dozens of injuries, as many as 4,000 destroyed physical structures and as many as 5,000 lost or damaged trees. In Forest Park alone, tree loss estimates exceed 1,200.

The deadly tornado formed in the afternoon and track northeastward on a 23-mile path through north St. Louis City into Granite City and Edwardsville. The EF3 tornado reached peak strength in North St. Louis City with winds topping at 152 mph.

“Whether you were directly impacted by the recent tornado, supporting friends and family, or simply feeling the weight of helplessness in the face of this devastation, the reality of regional storms is hard to accept,” said Meredith McAvoy Perkins of Forest ReLeaf.

Complete restoration of the tree canopy will literally require decades. Neighborhoods in the Central West End, Clayton, and Skinker DeBaliviere saw dozens of trees uprooted and leveled.

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All photos: Minnie HaHa Park.

by Don Corrigan

For the second time in less than six months, eastern and southern Missouri have been hit with record floodwaters. Stretches of roadway were closed at Meramec Bottom, Hawkins, Butler Hill, Smizer Mill and Pritchard Farm roads

The early April storms were a repeat of a November scenario when flooding severely damaged state and local parks and closed highways. Sandbags once again found use in some river towns along the lower Meramec and its tributaries.

A fatality occurred this time around when a 16-year-old junior firefighter was on his way to a water rescue and lost control of his vehicle. Chevy Gall was killed on Highway 50 near MO-185 on April 4 in the midst of heavy rains.

Gall was remembered April 12 in a ceremony in Franklin County’s Life Stream Church after being killed in the crash. Firefighters in the Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District had high praise for Gall and his dedication to rescue and responder work.

Heavy rains and flash floods hurt river site parks and also scoured riverbeds. The torrential rains and high water damaged stream beds and caused unprecedented erosion at some locations.

Only ducks, frogs, and their tadpole spawn were happy with standing water that covered bike and hiking trails for days. Greenway trails in Kirkwood, Fenton and Valley Park were especially hit hard.

In the St. Louis region, drivers in the Valley Park-Fenton area were once again frustrated when roads closed part of Highway 141 near I-44 due to the flooding Meramec River. Horses had to be moved to higher ground at nearby riding stables.

Marshall Road in Valley Park went underwater as did riding trails along the Meramec in Eureka. Minnie Ha Ha Park in Sunset Hills suffered severe damage to its shoreline with trails and facilities washed out.

Recovery work at Minnie Ha Ha was yet to be completed from November washouts on park trails. This month’s storm waters took out tables, fencing, picnic areas and washed out a major piece of trail along the Meramec River.

For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Billboards on interstates 44, 55, 70 and 65 are ubiquitous with the roadway on I-65
between Springfield and Branson being one of the most cluttered in the nation.

by Don Corrigan

Missouri’s rank as 6th among states with the most billboards is once again drawing scrutiny. Concern comes as state officials eye the continuing $2.8 billion project to widen Interstate 70 between Wentzville and Kansas City.

Scenic Missouri President John Hock is urging legislators to commit to a serious study on safety issues, as well as the aesthetic impact of so many billboards along the 250-mile highway from St. Louis to Kansas City.

Hock notes that I-70 is called the “Main Street of Missouri” as part of the vital 2,200-mile interstate. I-70 has a significant footprint in nine states. Missouri has 3.64 billboards per mile along its I-70 corridor.

This is 2.5 times the average of its adjacent neighbors. Missouri has a billboard problem, according to Hock. He said Missouri’s “Main Street” travelers are not only deprived of natural beauty, but distracted driving caused by billboards puts them in danger.

John and Marilyn Hock are in the fight against highway billboards for the long haul.

Several legislators, both Democrat and Republican, agree with Hock that now is an opportune time to take a look at billboard clutter in the state. Proposals include a moratorium on the signage and hikes in billboard placement fees.

Billboard companies and the Missouri Outdoor Advertising Association are telling legislators that a commission to study the issue is a waste of taxpayer money. They also question any studies suggesting billboards could present traffic safety hazards.

Many Missouri legislators have spent thousands of election dollars on their own billboard advertising to improve their facial recognition among voters. Some state politicians are sympathetic to the billboard industry as a force promoting the local economy.

Hock said his organization, Scenic Missouri, has seen this rodeo before. His group tangled with the billboard industry over a Nov. 7, 2000 ballot issue. The ballot Proposition A was identified for voters as, “Save Our Scenery 2000.”

Save Our Scenery

Proposition A would have ended construction of most new billboard advertising along highways; granted authority to local governments to regulate existing billboards within their communities; halted the practice of allowing billboard companies to cut down trees on public land next to highways.

Prop. A’s “Save Our Scenery 2000” was a coalition of over 70 different business, environmental and professional organizations from across Missouri. It was placed on the ballot by 130,000 citizens who signed petitions across the state.

Opponents of Prop. A were led by the Citizens Against Tax Waste Committee. The group said Prop. A would raise taxes and effectively kill small businesses relying on outdoor advertising to attract customers.

Citizens Against Tax Waste Committee also claimed that requirements for compensation to landowners and sign owners after billboard removal would cost the state $500 to $600 million.

Supporters of Prop. A fired back that the Tax Waste Committee was simply a tool for the Missouri Outdoor Advertising Association. They also said the billboard industry was attempting to mislead voters with “ridiculous” figures of up to $600 million in reimbursements required.

In the end, state voters chose to side with the billboard industry in the 2000 election. The margin was as close as could be: 51% to 49%. At the time, Scenic Missouri spokesperson Karl Kruse lamented the state had about three times as many billboards per mile as its eight neighboring states.

Kruse said Missouri was 40 years behind the times in its laws regulating billboards. Four states, Maine, Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont, have complete bans on billboards along primary highways. About 20 states have laws prohibiting new billboard construction along interstates.

Today, Scenic Missouri’s John Hock can say the Show-Me State is now 65 years behind the times in its laws regulating billboards. Hock will also insist that the organization, Scenic Missouri, has not given up the fight against billboard clutter he says distorts the natural beauty of Missouri.