St. Joseph gets cold shoulder in Jefferson City

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- You could see the logic of Gov. Mike Kehoe’s decision to expand the agenda of a special legislative session beyond the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.

Throw in disaster relief for St. Louis tornado victims and $50 million for University of Missouri research and there’s something for the entire Interstate 70 corridor. A cap on property tax assessments makes it easier for the conservative Freedom Caucus to swallow generous incentives for the wealthy team owners.

It’s also easy to see who was overlooked. The session did not include $7 million for a University of Missouri dental school on the Missouri Western State University campus. The special session also excluded $2.8 million in improvements for Chiefs Training Camp at Western.

These St. Joseph-related priorities died on the vine when the House failed to take up a $513 million capital spending bill late in the regular legislative session. The governor, who sets the agenda for a special session, did not appear to look north of I-70 when counting votes for a Chiefs and Royals incentive package.

This session was anything but special for St. Joseph, even if the final bill included language requiring the Chiefs to keep training camp in Missouri. For starters, nothing is stopping the Chiefs from moving camp to a renovated Arrowhead complex and creating a fanboy experience with $20 Mahomes burgers at an overpriced team restaurant.

There’s also no guarantee the Chiefs and Royals both remain in Missouri. Kansas still has more generous tax incentives on the table – 70% reimbursement compared to 50% in Missouri, and voters in Kansas City need to pass a local tax to keep the teams. A previous election showed that’s not a sure thing.

One thing is certain: This special session serves as a bitter reminder of the lack of clout that comes with years of stagnant or declining population in St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri.

It should come as a rude awakening, given all the lobbying for this region every year at Great Northwest Day in Jefferson City.

Maybe elected officials should just show up for the free breakfast at that event.