REGIONAL ECONOMIC SUMMIT COMING APRIL 29 … The first Regional Summit will kick off at 9 am on Friday, 29 April, on the MSSU campus with world-renowned futurist ERIK PETERSON of the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington, DC. Mr. Peterson is the director of the widely admired Seven Futures Project that examines the world economy and how to prepare for it. The Summit will feature break-out sessions on economic development nuts and bolts with legislators and professionals, sessions on the arts as development tools, the future of water quality and availability, international business in our region, and strategies to preserve our environment while accommodating development. Kansas Governor KATHLEEN SEBELIUS and Missouri Governor MATT BLUNT are invited guests to address the Summit. Brochures announcing the Summit are being prepared for distribution in early 2007.

 

VOTERS IN THE REGION FACE A NUMBER OF ISSUES AT THE POLLS IN NOVEMBER… The Center’s FRANK NEELY gathered the various ballot questions that will be determined by voters in a matter of weeks. Controversial propositions along with hotly contested races for office are expected to boost voter turn-out making the outcome of the numerous ballot questions difficult to predict. Here is a listing of issues in the region.

Joplin	½ cent Sales Tax for Public Safety
Carl Junction	½ cent Sales Tax for Capital Improvements
	$12 million bond issue for a junior high school
Jasper County	911 Board structure and composition
Northern Jasper/ Southern Barton	Fire Protection District and composition of Board
Newton County	7 cent increase for Health Department assessment on property tax
Lawrence County	$5.5 million bond issue for Mt. Vernon schools
	½ cent Sales Tax for the new County Courthouse
	$6 million bond issue for improvements in Mt. Vernon water system
Monett	¼ cent Sales Tax for Capital Improvements
Kimberling City	Franchise with Ozark Energy Partners to offer natural gas
Missouri	1) Amendment 2 allowing stem cell research
	2) Amendment 3 levying a 4 cent per cigarette and 20% tax on all other tobacco products
	3) Amendment 6 to authorize a tax exemption on real and personal property of non-profit veterans organization
	4) Amendment 7 requiring forfeiture of pensions by state-wide elected officials and judges upon conviction or impeachment
	5) Proposition B calls for an increase of the State minimum wage to $6.50 per house with annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index

PANDEMIC PLANNING KICKS OFF … The Center is assisting the Joplin Health Department and the Jasper County Health Department formulates plans to weather a pandemic influenza outbreak. The much-tauted Avian N15H virus looms on the radar and local officials, with assistance of Federal and State agencies, are determined to prepare the region for a possible outbreak here. According to health officials, should the N15H virus make the leap to humans, it could infect as much as a third of the population. Influenza outbreaks in the United States are not unprecedented with wide-ranging and devastating results in 1918, 1957, and 1968. In conjunction with the health agencies, the Center is hosting working meetings of health-related professionals and interested citizens to prepare action plans in the case of an outbreak. The next pandemic forum will be held on Wednesday, 1 November, at noon, on the campus of MSSU. Lunch will be provided. If you are interested in participating in these discussions and work sessions, contact the Center at 417-625-3016 or email Ms. Price at the Center, price-m@mssu.edu.

SO YOU ASPIRE TO ELECTIVE OFFICE … Ask almost any elective official and he/she will tell you that few are prepared for the demands of the office, the legal constraints that accompany the position, and the impact serving has on families. The Center is inaugurating a unique program in 2007 to familiarize potential office-seekers with the dynamics of public service, before they make the leap to candidacy. Brochures outlining CANDIDATE SCHOOL are now available from the Center with the first class set for 9-10 February 2007. Enrollees will receive two-days of detailed instruction on campaign laws, ethics, representational models, the public spotlight and media training, and much more. CANDIDATE SCHOOL is applicable to candidates seeking office in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, for any office of public trust – city council, school board, county, or legislative seats. Enrollment is limited to no more than twenty for the first class. For more details, contact the Center.

WHERE WE STAND … One of the on-going efforts of the Center is to provide policy-makers and development professionals with verifiable real-world data upon which to plan strategies and expenditures. One of the most common economic development tools is the location quotient. The LQ compares the percentage of a local workforce employed in a broad category of the economy with the percentage on the national scale. For instance, an LQ of 1.00 indicates that a particular location employs the same percentage of workers in a selected industry as would be found on the national level. By extension, then, an LQ of less than 1.00 indicates that a location employs less than one would expect to find while an LQ greater than 1.00 indicates that a location employs more than one would expect to find. Here is a table that looks at the LQ for Jasper County, Missouri, Cherokee County, Kansas, and Ottawa County, Oklahoma for various economic sectors.

 

Industry	Jasper County, Missouri	Cherokee County, Kansas	Ottawa County, Oklahoma
Base Industry: Total, all industries	1.00	1.00	1.00
NAICS 11 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	0.66	ND	6.42
NAICS 21 Mining	0.42	ND	0.73
NAICS 22 Utilities	0.68	ND	ND
NAICS 23 Construction	0.61	1.15	0.36
NAICS 31-33 Manufacturing	1.82	2.62	1.61
NAICS 42 Wholesale trade	0.90	ND	0.63
NAICS 44-45 Retail trade	1.18	0.73	0.92
NAICS 48-49 Transportation and warehousing	2.66	1.23	ND
NAICS 51 Information	0.63	0.83	0.39
NAICS 52 Finance and insurance	0.57	0.48	0.64
NAICS 53 Real estate and rental and leasing	0.62	0.15	0.51
NAICS 54 Professional and technical services	0.32	0.51	0.67
NAICS 55 Management of companies and enterprises	1.23	ND	ND
NAICS 56 Administrative and waste services	0.52	ND	ND
NAICS 61 Educational services	0.14	ND	ND
NAICS 62 Health care and social assistance	0.98	ND	ND
NAICS 71 Arts, entertainment, and recreation	0.41	0.34	6.17
NAICS 72 Accommodation and food services	0.99	0.91	0.74
NAICS 81 Other services, except public administration	0.88	1.62	0.58
NAICS 99 Unclassified	NC	NC	1.98

 

The data indicate that all three counties in our region are bucking the trend nationally regarding manufacturing. While manufacturing seems to be declining nationally, it is still strong in our region. It is not surprising to see that Jasper County, Missouri, has a high LQ for retail sales since Joplin is the regional trade center. Likewise, it is not surprising that Transportation, especially trucking, exceeds what one would find in the national economy. Our region is, in fact, a major trucking locus. The data indicate less white collar jobs – in information, finance, and professional services – than the national economy. Attracting such jobs to our region will pay dividends in that such jobs enjoy high rates of pay and require a more educated work force. And, finally, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, has Grand Lake and reaps the benefits of it with a very high LQ for recreation. Location quotients for all of the counties in our region are free for the asking. They are a basic but useful tool for decision-makers. If you are interested in a more detailed LQ for your county, contact the Center.

 

LEGISLATIVE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM TAKING APPLICATIONS … Applications for the second class of Missouri Southern legislative interns are now being taken with 2 November as the deadline for submission. Interest in the program, where MSSU funds ten interns to the General Assembly, is high and competition is keen for the coveted positions. Applications are available from the Center.