SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Fans of morels are salivating thanks to a wet and gradually warming spring in Missouri that promises a bountiful haul of the wild mushrooms.

Ron Cook, who tracks the wild mushrooms, is predicting an "epic morel season in Missouri."

"The conditions are really right for them," Cook said. "The season ahead will be one of our more fruitful ones than we've had in the last couple of years."

Cook monitors morels as they begin to surface across the state and posts a map on his Missouri Morel Hunting Facebook page for tens of thousands of followers, noting confirmed sites where hunters have found the delicacies.

He told the Springfield News-Leader the rains and warm weather are creating "ideal conditions" for morels to sprout.

https://www.semissourian.com/story/2601835.html

This Thursday, Harris-Stowe State University and the Missouri Humanities Council are commemorating some of the city’s past residents in a new Civil War panel titled “Long Roads to Freedom.” It will be unveiled on the grounds of the university near the former site of John B. Henderson’s home, the Missouri senator who co-authored the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.

The panel also honors others who advanced the cause of equal rights, such as Henderson’s wife Mary Henderson – who was very involved in the cause of women’s suffrage and women’s rights – and Hiram Reed, the first slave freed on the authority of the American military during the
Civil War.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/long-roads-freedom-civil-war-panel-honors-st-louisans-who-championed-civil-rights

Rep. Dean Plocher is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Des Peres Republican primarily talked about a potential merger between St. Louis and St. Louis County.

Plocher represents the 89th House District, which includes parts of Town & Country, Huntleigh, Des Peres and Country Life Acres. Plocher, an attorney by trade, is the chairman of the influential House General Laws Committee.

A group called Better Together unveiled a plan earlier this year to create a metro government overseeing St. Louis and St. Louis County. Among other things, the new entity would have a mayor, assessor, prosecutor and 33-person council government presiding over what is now the city and the county.

Organizers are seeking to get the Better Together plan before statewide voters in November 2020. They contend a constitutional amendment is necessary to implement key elements of the plan, such as consolidating police departments and municipal courts. But that decision has sparked bipartisan criticism, because it means that a city-county merger could happen if it passes statewide, even if St. Louis and St. Louis County residents vote against it.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/politically-speaking-rep-plocher-how-legislature-could-impact-city-county-merger-debate

It’s been five years since the last ag census. Since 2012, the U.S. has lost about 70,000 farms, saw the average age of farmers go up and prices for certain commodities go down.

But it’s not all bad news: More rural areas are connected to the internet, something that’s a priority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which gathered the data from farmers and producers across the U.S. — as long as they earned more than $1,000 and grew a federally recognized crop (i.e. not cannabis).

Here are some maps and charts that outline some of the main takeaways.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/numbers-what-usda-s-latest-census-tells-us-about-american-agriculture

Charts and maps are at the link.

When Cassandra Brown Ray became the first African-American woman named chief financial officer at the Saint Louis Zoo earlier this year, she described it as “one of those cup-running-over” moments.

“First woman. First African-American. I stand on a whole lot of shoulders,” said Ray, who also serves as a vice president.

“Many, many prayers support the intentions to get me a seat at the table. For so long, many blacks and women have desired and prepared for a role at the top or a seat at the table, but were never given the opportunity. When young people seeking a profession look at the leadership of the Saint Louis Zoo, they will know that this place is progressive and inclusive.”

Jeffrey Bonner, Dana Brown president and CEO of the Zoo, knew immediately that Ray was the right person for the job.

http://www.stlamerican.com/business/business_news/diversifying-the-saint-louis-zoo/article_9c479ff0-5bef-11e9-b258-3f262aca9080.html

The St. Louis County Board of Elections is upgrading its voting equipment for the upcoming 2020 elections. The county has roughly 1,800 touch voting machines and 500 optical scan paper ballot tabulators that have had their fair share of wear and tear, and the software is now out of date.

Eric Fey, the Democratic director of elections for the St. Louis County Board, said the last time county voters had new voting equipment was in 2005.

“Although the equipment is 100% accurate, we have to replace components more often,” Fey said. “It’s very hard to get replacement parts. And then with the software, the programming of the ballot, the tabulation of the ballots is very labor intensive.”

Currently, the board of elections is holding public demonstrations with three contenders including Dominion, Hart InterCivic and the county’s current vendor Election Systems & Software.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-county-board-elections-gearing-upgrades

JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri Gov. Mike Parson wants to invest nearly $5 million in a project that might not have a payback until long after he’s left office.

The governor, a Republican, is calling on lawmakers to set aside money to make upgrades to the 118-year-old Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, with a goal of luring the National High School Rodeo Finals to the facility.

The finals, which can draw as many as 1,700 competitors and crowds estimated at 50,000, are already scheduled through 2029, meaning it could be more than a decade before Missouri could have an opportunity to serve as a host.

If Parson wins a full term in 2020, he will have been gone from office five years before any calves are roped or bulls ridden.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-hopes-to-lasso-national-rodeo-event-with-upgrades-to/article_dd4e2e7b-6e81-54e2-a508-6b00ecbfd475.html