Articles by David A. Lieb

Tornado, Flood Repairs to Missouri Facilities Could Cost Almost $13M

Repairs to Missouri government facilities damaged by recent tornadoes and flooding could cost almost $13 million, a majority of which would go toward fixing a historic prison that state officials are still trying to decide whether to salvage for tourists. …

Flooding Midwest Rivers Test Fortifications Around Missouri

The flooding Missouri and Mississippi rivers tested sandbag fortifications on June 5 as surging waters making their way downstream rose to some of their highest levels in more than two decades in parts of Missouri. The Missouri River had been …

Recovery Begins in Missouri’s Capital After Tornado Sweeps Area

A tornado tore apart buildings in Missouri’s capital city as part of an outbreak of severe weather across the state overnight that left at least three people dead and dozens injured. The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and …

Cost of Flood-Prone Home Buyouts in Missouri, Elsewhere: $5B and Rising

The residents of the small riverside town of Mosby, Missouri, have become accustomed to watching floods swamp their streets, transform their homes into islands and ruin their floors and furniture. Elmer Sullivan has replaced his couch, bed and television. He’s …

Missouri Proposal Would Limit Local Tax Breaks for Flood Zone Development

With floodwaters again inundating parts of Missouri, the state Senate has backed legislation that could limit local tax breaks offered for new developments in flood plains. A bill given initial approval would prohibit new “tax increment financing” projects in areas …

Missouri Voters Reject Attempt to Weaken Labor Unions

The steady march of new “right-to-work” laws in Republican-led states hit a wall in Missouri, where voters resoundingly rejected a measure that could have weakened union finances after national and local labor groups poured millions of dollars into the campaign …

Joplin School District Still Haggling with FEMA over Cost of Tornado Repairs

More than six years after a deadly tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, the heavily damaged local school district has rebuilt. Exactly how much of those costs the district will have to shoulder remains up in the air. The district is …

Common Reasons FEMA Denies Disaster Funds

Local governments and nonprofits trying to recover from major disasters have sometimes learned the hard way that money spent on protective measures, cleanup and rebuilding is not always reimbursed by the U.S. government. The Associated Press analyzed more than 900 …

Costly Business Disruptor: Aging U.S. Infrastructure

When a train jumped the tracks this past week at New York’s Penn Station, the seemingly minor accident led to a cascade of exasperating delays for hundreds of thousands of commuters. When a flood forced authorities to condemn a one-lane, …

Missouri Lawmakers Override Veto, Loosen Gun Laws

Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature has used its supermajority to significantly loosen the state’s gun laws and potentially tighten its voting requirements as lawmakers overrode numerous vetoes of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. The sweeping guns legislation would allow most adults to carry …