One of the good things about the interim, the time between sessions, is that it affords me time to do things my busy Capitol schedule doesn’t. Last week, I was honored to be able to be one of the hosting delegates from Missouri at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) that took place in St. Louis on June 9-10. This week, I attended the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC) spring meeting in Washington, D.C. on June 13-15.
The Midwestern Higher Education Compact is something I have had the privilege of being involved with for the past few years. As an organization, we gather twice a year to discuss matters that will have an affect on higher education in our respective states and throughout the Midwest. Since this meeting took place in St. Louis, the other hosting delegates from Missouri included fellow commissioners Dr. Gerald Brouder of Columbia College; Dr. Evelyn Jorgenson, President of Moberly Area Community College; Dr. Carolyn Mahoney, President of Lincoln University – Jefferson City; and Rep. Mike Thomson, current chair of the Joint Committee on Education. This compact is interesting in that it is made up of elected officials and education leaders from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The meeting was kicked off by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth. His presentation on both the role of religion in politics and the emerging role of politics in education was well received by the attendees. It was my honor to introduce Sen. Danforth to my fellow colleagues.
One of the greatest things about conferences like this is that it allows many people to come together for discussion centered on one subject, the strengthening of higher education in our states. The compact will meet again in November in Iowa.
This week’s passenger rail conference is a new one for me. I serve as the Senate alternate to the compact. This compact has a special purpose for me, as Amtrak is important to the 31st Senatorial District. The main purposes of the MIPRC is to promote both current improvements and long-range plans for intercity passenger rail service in the Midwest, and coordinate interaction among Midwestern state officials and between the public and private sectors at all levels of government, and promote current state efforts being conducted through state Departments of Transportation.
Joining me in Washington, D.C. as delegates from Missouri were Sen. John Lamping, and former State Sen. Joan Bray.
Passenger rail service in Missouri is improving. In March 2011, train ridership was up 13.6 percent over March 2010, and for the first six months of 2011, ridership was up a total of 14.4 percent. In all, over the last five years, passenger rail ridership has gone up 26 percent in Missouri. Numbers like these help define the importance of continued rail service and job security for rail workers in our state.
In relation to the 31st Senatorial District, many projects were discussed, including installing side rail sections of track where trains congest near both Knob Noster and Kingsville, a grade separation in Strasburg, and a double track between Lee’s Summit and Pleasant Hill.
On Wednesday, the final day of the meeting, I met with both of our U.S. senators from Missouri, Sen. Claire McCaskill and Sen. Roy Blunt, as well as members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, and Rep. Russ Carnahan. We also met with staff from Rep. Billy Long and Rep. Sam Graves offices.
I look forward to bringing back what I learned and new ideas for the 31st Senatorial District and Missouri in terms of passenger rail service to continue to improve transportation in our state.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
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