Author Archives: Jacob Luecke

Innovative re-entry programs show signs of success

Even with Missouri releasing an average of 19,000 inmates each year, the state’s prison population grew at an alarming rate between 2012 and 2017. A primary cause of the overcrowding was people found guilty of repeat nonviolent offenses or supervision violations, according to the Council of State Governments. But Shelle Jacobs, re-entry coordinator for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said

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Bayer uses a voice-activated approach to promote STEM skills

Alexa has many talents. The digital assistant created by Amazon can answer questions, play music, send text messages and even order pizza. But those suggestions sound mundane compared to what Alexa has in mind for today. “Are you interested in seeing a big chemical reaction?” she asks. Her nonchalant way of posing the question might elicit a double take —

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American Petroleum Institute releases annual energy report

American Petroleum Institute CEO and President Jack Gerard presented his annual API State of American Energy Report last week. In the report, he notes that American energy has lowered costs for businesses and industry, spurring the manufacturing sector’s renaissance and bringing a number of manufacturers back to the U.S. from overseas. Producers of steel, chemicals, plastics and other products have

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Rebuilding 65 — Planned closures speed repairs to vital southwest highway

  The busiest stretch of road in Springfield carries nearly 70,000 vehicles each day. But today — a Wednesday in mid-August — the only machine operating in the northbound lanes of Highway 65 is a 50-ton excavator. The machine’s hydraulic arm lifts shattered pavement and metal mesh, hoisting them into a nearby dump truck. After 45 years of use, the

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PACE: Creating Jobs, Boosting Missouri’s Economy

Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, entered Missouri markets only a few years ago, and local businesses and communities across the state are already reaping the benefits. Residential PACE provides up-front financing for homeowners to make energy-efficiency and renewable energy upgrades to their homes, then pay over time through a line item on their property tax bill. City and county

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Year 2 — Governor Eric Greitens talks progress and challenges

In September of 2015, Eric Greitens turned heads in Missouri when he stood in a St. Louis suburb and announced he was running for governor. “We need a political outsider to move Missouri forward,” he said that day, drawing a contrast to “the career politicians and lobbyists who are ruining our state.” At the time, Greitens was an experienced leader

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Site selection gets computerized

In 1971, this magazine dedicated the June issue to highlighting economic development efforts happening across Missouri — including an innovative use of primitive computer power. At the time, economic development was already a very competitive field. “The businessman searching the nation for a new plant location or expansion site finds the welcome mat out and doors open everywhere he turns,”

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