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By KENNY LARABEE Sports Editor Jun 6, 2016 Maryville Daily Forum With sunny skies and pristine stretches of green awaiting them, area youth took to the Watson 9 at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park to learn about the game of golf Saturday in the first of four youth camps scheduled for this summer. The three-day camps, open to children ages five through 17, teach players the rules of golf, etiquette and skills such as chipping, putting and teeing off. Designed by golfing legend Tom Watson, the Watson 9 opened earlier this year and is a hybrid course created specifically with youth – and youth instruction – in mind. Golfers at the camp began the first day by moving from one practice station to another, learning about different aspects of the sport at each stop. With changes in the camp’s format and one of the best practice facilities in the country, according to Mozingo Lake Golf Course Head Professional Kyle Easter, the first day went to the resident pro’s liking. “Being that this is the first time we’ve done this sort of camp style, I thought it went really well,” Easter said. “It was nice to have a little more time than we used to. We don’t have to rush around and we can hit on a variety of different things, golf-wise. So it was really nice in that aspect of it.” Golfers at the camp are divided by age group, with older age groups learning more advanced techniques, like pre-shot routines, Easter said. The purpose of the camp is to get as many kids involved with golf as possible, Easter said. Three more camps are scheduled for this summer, beginning June 25, July 16 and July 30. Each camp costs $40 and last three days. Financial aid and clubs are available to those that need them as well, making the program accessible to all, Easter said. “Any kid that wants to be part of the program, we want them to have the opportunity,” Easter said. “If there’s any interest at all, let us help them build that interest.” Brooke Byland, one of the camp’s instructors, said that the benefits of the camp should entice area youth to give it a try. “Definitely come out,” Byland said. “Golf’s a life-long sport. If they start early, they can play it throughout their entire life.” Registration for the remaining three camps is available at the Maryville Community Center, among other locations throughout the area, and online at Mozingolake.com. And although the primary purpose of the camp is to teach area youth about golf, having fun also ranks high. “Come out, have some fun, enjoy the new golf course,” Easter said. “Enjoy being outside following a little white ball around.”

By JIM FALL Executive editor Maryville Daily Forum “It’s been a long time coming,” Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel said Wednesday as he watched heavy equipment operators from the city’s Street Department and Mozingo Lake Recreation Park grounds crew move earth in preparation for construction of a new city-owned conference center and golf course clubhouse. The $4 million park facility is to be built in conjunction with a privately developed 40-room hotel. “Can you believe it’s finally here?” McDanel asked no one in particular as the equipment stopped briefly so workers could figure out the best way to remove remnants of an old building foundation. “We’ll be scraping for the next few days,” Street Superintendent Jay Cacek said. “If we get a good five days, we’ll have it.” The preliminary work is beginning on the south side of the existing entrance to the Sechrest 18 and Watson 9 golf courses, where the typography will be lowered by approximately 10 feet. When that is accomplished, Midland Engineering will complete final elevations for the relocation of the golf course entrance and a new parking lot. The hotel, to be constructed and managed by Boulders Inn and Suites of Denison, Iowa, and a local investment group, will be located on the north side of the existing entryway near the site of the current upper parking area. City crews are also scheduled to perform some grading work for that project as a part of the city’s agreement with the developers, McDanel said. The overall plan calls for the entry road to remain open throughout construction. The new conference center will feature a 5,500-square-foot modular banquet hall capable of seating 500 people, a restaurant, a golf pro shop, and indoor golf cart storage. Plans call for the restaurant to be operated by a private third-party vendor. The new conference center will be located east of the existing clubhouse and silo, allowing the current facility to be used throughout construction. The existing clubhouse, built when the park opened 20 years ago, and an iconic silo remaining from when the site was a working farm, are scheduled for demolition when the new center is completed. In addition to the new facilities, the main entrance to the golf courses will be relocated a few hundred yards to the south. The configuration of the driving ranges will also be relocated to a lesser degree. Construction of the conference center moved forward following voter approval in April of a new eighth-of-a-cent sales tax. http://www.maryvilledailyforum.com/

By TONY BROWN Staff writer Maryville Daily Forum Maryville’s business and civic leaders turned out in force Friday for a groundbreaking ceremony marking the recent start of construction for Lettuce Dream, a community-based effort to create a hydroponic greenhouse complex that is to provide vocational training for people with developmental and cognitive disabilities. When phase one is completed this summer, the three-acre campus will consist of two 35-by-96-foot greenhouses and a 32-foot-by-62-foot operations building. If all goes as scheduled, said Lettuce Dream board member Wayne Pierson, the first crop of lettuce, which is to be sold to area markets, restaurants, and dining services operations, will be planted shortly thereafter. Production is to continue on a year-round basis. Pierson said that two horticulture students at Northwest Missouri State University have been engaged as interns to help set up the hydroponic cultivation system once the greenhouse exteriors are completed. Hydroponics is an alternative agriculture technology in which crops are grown in nutrient-enriched water instead of tilled earth. Lettuce Dream President Diane Francis, who founded the organization three years ago, said the initiative began with a group of individuals and families who felt area young people coping with developmental disabilities had too few opportunities for job-focused training after leaving high school. After several meetings, Francis said, members of the budding organization began asking, “Why just talk about this. Let’s do something about it.” Since then, through a combination of private donations, trust and foundation gifts, government grants, and the sale of Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits through the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the organization has raised more than $600,000. The ultimate goal is construction of up to 16 greenhouses and support facilities on the Lettuce Dream property, which was donated by Mark and Myles Burnsides, a local father-son business team whose Maryville East Side Development is behind the emergence of an adjoining retail district near the intersection of East First Street and the Highway 71 bypass. “The only thing limiting us is our imagination,” Pierson said during Friday’s ceremony. While Lettuce Dream is a non-profit enterprise likely to create, at most, a handful of jobs, both Nodaway County Economic Development Director Josh McKim and City Manager Greg McDanel said the initiative’s potential goes well beyond its humanitarian impact. McKim said that, aside from highlighting the community’s willingness to meet local needs with local solutions, Lettuce Dream, if successful, could serve as a pilot project demonstrating the viability of alternative agriculture enterprises generally. Any project, McKim said, that brings more “value-added agriculture” to the Maryville region should be regarded as a positive in terms of economic growth. For his part, McDanel said Lettuce Dream will provide restaurants and food retailers with fresh, locally grown produce while, along with the NoCoMo Industries sheltered workshop and other agencies, aiding citizens who face special challenges when it comes to finding and holding a job. From a planning standpoint, McDanel added that the Lettuce Dream operation provides “a perfect buffer” between a strip of light industry, including Consumers Oil Co. and MFA Agri Services, along Depot Street, and a retail area south of Depot and north of East First that appears poised for more growth. Francis said Friday that, for the moment, Lettuce Dream remains focused on construction, but that plans are beginning to move forward for accepting the organization’s first class of trainees. She said the number of clients served at any one time remains to be determined, as does the format for a planned series of vocational modules designed to lead toward employment by area businesses and industries. The organization probably won’t begin accepting applications until later in the summer. Francis said about 25 families have inquired about enrollment. Follow us onTwitter@TheDailyForum    

By TONY BROWN Staff writer Maryville Daily Forum No question that Monday was a big night for Mozingo Lake Recreation Park as city officials took the wraps off conceptual drawings for a proposed $4 million conference center and hotel complex to be located on a scenic hilltop overlooking the Sechrest 18 and Watson 9 golf courses. But the party is just beginning, as Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland, Mozingo’s lead administrator, and his staff prepare to celebrate a new summer season with a grand opening for the Watson 9 youth course on May 14 and the start of conference center construction sometime around the Aug. 1. With the 2016 focus clearly on a rejuvenated youth golf program, Heiland told the City Council this week that a fundraising effort in support of programs for young players will get under way this Thursday just as the weather is forecast to warm in earnest and fairways return to peak use. The extended fundraiser, named “Fore the Youth,” will benefit the Youth Golf Foundation. Organized by Dr. Bruce Twaddle, the foundation’s initial purpose was to secure funding for Watson 9 construction. The group of grass-roots volunteers has since evolved into the foundation, whose goal has shifted to providing instruction, equipment, and financial support for young people across the Maryville region interested in learning the game. Among other things, the organization plans to provide golf “scholarships” and equipment to youngsters from lower-income families who may not be able to afford clubs, fees, and other expenses. Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by foundation representatives and city officials last spring, the city has agreed to provide the Junior Golf Foundation with $2,500 during the current fiscal year, money intended to cover initial costs for programming and equipment. In addition, the foundation is to receive funding equivalent to 10 percent of all Watson 9 tee-time fees. Fore the Youth is intended to raise even more money for the program by giving park golfers the opportunity to make donations based on the number of holes played between April 14 and May 14 — the day of the Watson 9 grand opening. For example, Heiland said, if a Mozingo golfer pledges $1 per hole and plays two full Sechrest 18 rounds over the next month, he or she will have raised $36 for the foundation. As for the Watson 9 opening itself, Heiland said the day will be chock-full of special activities highlighted by the appearance of course designer and PGA great Tom Watson. Festivities will begin at 9 a.m. when Mozingo golf pro Kyle Easter is to lead a series of free youth clinics. The opening ceremony itself is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will feature Watson as the keynote speaker. Heiland said Tuesday that Fore the Youth contributors and other Watson 9 benefactors will also be recognized at that time. Afterward, Watson will join University of Missouri golf standout Ryan Zech and two local youth golfers in playing the course’s inaugural round. A post-round social and press conference is set for 4 p.m. to be followed by a youth tournament at 4:30. Follow us onTwitter@TheDailyForum

Maryville Daily Forum – Tony Brown   Construction of the proposed Lettuce Dream hydroponic greenhouse complex, envisioned as providing vocational training for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, is under way and on track for completion this summer, according to Wayne Pierson, vice president of the non-profit organization established four years ago by a group of local volunteers. Pierson said phase one of the initiative, which will consist of two 35-by-96-foot greenhouses and a 32-foot-by-62-foot operations building, could be completed as soon as July 1 with the first crop of lettuce scheduled for planting shortly thereafter. Maryville builder Jeff Smith is acting as construction manager for the complex, which is going up on three acres of land donated by Maryville East Side Development near the newly constructed intersection of Che and East Second streets. The greenhouse operation adjoins a new retail district sprouting up just northwest of the junction of East First Street and the Highway 71 bypass. Pierson estimated the cost of phase-one construction at about $650,000, money that Lettuce Dream has spent more than three years raising through private donations, trust and foundation gifts, the sale of Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits through the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and a Rural Business Development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition to the donated land, Lettuce Dream has received significant in-kind support from local businesses and individuals. Brock Pfost of White Cloud Engineering, for example, is donating installation of water and sewer connections along with associated infrastructure. The three structures will have concrete pad foundations, and the operations building is to be constructed using pre-fabricated, interlocking poly-acrylic beams filled with insulating foam and concrete. Both greenhouses will consist of a framework covered with translucent acrylic panels containing air cavities for improved insulation. Pierson said each greenhouse will contain two suspended natural gas heaters that, in the winter, will ensure a minimum growing temperature of 45 degrees. Lettuce, which thrives in cool weather, will be grown year-round using a no-soil technology known as hydroponics, in which plants are cultivated in nutrient-enriched water instead of tilled earth. The idea is to sell the produce to area markets, restaurants, and food-service operations in order to cover operating expenses and pay administrative staff. Lettuce Dream President Diane Francis has compared the initiative to a trade school or college for the developmentally disabled and other handicapped persons, who she said have few educational alternatives following high school. Though phase one is under way, Pierson said the organization’s fundraising efforts will continue full force in order to prepare for phase two, a plan for two additional greenhouses to be constructed in two or three years. “A lot of people think, ‘They’ve got the money and they’re done,’” he said. “But we’re not done. This is just the first phase. Ultimately the organization hopes to build as many as 16 greenhouses at its current location in addition to an office building and a warehouse. Lettuce Dream was organized using a business model established by Wendie Blanchard, founder of Arthur & Friends, a New Jersey-based non-profit with a greenhouse operation serving wholesale and retail markets across greater New York City. Blanchard’s organization, which has provided training materials and coaching to similar organizations in various parts of the country, was hired by Lettuce Dream in 2013 under an agreement specifying that it would act as a consultant to the local group over a five-year period. Follow us onTwitter@TheDailyForum

Maryville was recognized by Site Selection magazine recently as one of its top 10 micropolitan areas of 2015, a ranking that signifies it had the nation’s 10th most expansion projects last year among all qualifying U.S. towns (10,000 – 50,000 population). Maryville, which was the smallest community to be recognized on the top 10 list, recorded seven significant expansion projects last year. The communities of West Plains and Moberly were also recognized by Site Selection with a combined 5 projects last year. Read more…. at Site Selection Magazine  

By TONY BROWN Staff writer Maryville Daily Forum March 2, 2016 Nodaway County Economic Development, a non-profit agency that, among other tasks, seeks to help local businesses expand while recruiting new enterprises to the area, offered some good news Tuesday for would-be entrepreneurs and existing small-business owners. NCED Executive Director Josh McKim said the agency has been approved for $425,000 in low-interest loan funds to be disbursed to borrowers seeking either to grow existing businesses or start new ones across an area embracing Nodaway, Atchison, Gentry, Holt, and Worth counties. The money, made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through its Intermediary Relending Program, is being awarded as one of only six low-interest loan initiatives in five states intended to spur economic development in rural areas. McKim said NCED will use the money to renew its existing revolving loan fund, which provides financing for small businesses. He said potential borrowers already in the local economic development pipeline have the potential to create up to 50 new jobs. The initiative is similar to an earlier infusion of cash made available several years ago for startups and small-business expansions through the Neighborhood Assistance Program administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development. NAP funds earmarked for no-interest loans, McKim said, totaled $150,000, most of which has been disbursed. The USDA program differs slightly from NAP, he said, in that borrowers will be charged between 2 and 3 percent interest. McKim said the length of time over which loans are to be repaid will vary depending on what the money is used for. Businesses borrowing working capital, for instance, will have two to five years to repay their debt. Equipment loans are to be spread out over five to seven years, and real estate acquisition and construction loans can be financed for as long as 10 years. The maximum loan amount is $250,000. Non-profit organizations are ineligible for the program. As for the types of enterprises eligible for assistance, McKim said the guidelines are fairly broad so long as the business operates within a rural area, a designation that includes the entire five-county region.   In practice, McKim said he expects most of the money to go to retail and service-sector operations in addition to a limited number of small “early stage” manufacturing concerns. Though loan applications will have to be approved by USDA, McKim said the primary decision-makers will be a local loan committee and the NCED board. He said one of the attractive features about the program is that it gives NCED local control over who gets the money for what purpose. While the USDA has approved NCED’s involvement in the program, McKim said a number of administrative steps remain before the money becomes available. After those are completed, the funds will remain with USDA and be disbursed through NCED to borrowers as individual loans are approved. Prospective borrowers must submit written applications to the NCED office, which is located at 423 N. Market St. in Maryville. The office’s phone number is 660.582.4490, and the NCED website is located at www.nodaway.biz. www.maryvilledailyforum.com

By TONY BROWN News editor Maryville Daily Forum Posted on Dec 3, 2015 Gov. Jay Nixon visited Northwest Missouri State University on Wednesday to officially announce more than $6.8 million in state “deferred maintenance” funding awarded earlier this fall that will be used to improve campus facilities. In addition, Nixon also visited the Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. plant here where he presented company officials with the Flag of Freedom award for participating in a state program designed to provide private-sector jobs for veterans. The additional Northwest funds, raised through the sale of bonds, is part of a so-called $200 million “Building Affordability” initiative approved by the General Assembly during its 2015 session. “We are proud to invest in higher education through Building Affordability so that Missouri colleges and universities can make needed improvements without raising tuition,” Nixon said. “The bipartisan $200 million Building Affordability initiative will help make sure students are learning in state-of-the-art facilities that prepare them for the jobs of the future while keeping Missouri a leader in college affordability.” Nixon called public investment in education at all levels “the best economic development tool there is,” and claimed that helping colleges and universities upgrade their campuses allows schools to keep student costs low. “Every dollar spent on Building Affordability is literally a dollar colleges and universities don’t have to raise tuition,” he said. Northwest is using its share of the bond proceeds to replace windows and upgrade electrical systems at several buildings, including Brown Education Hall, Martindale Hall, the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building, B.D. Owens Library, Colden Hal, the Administration Building, and the 140-year-old Gaunt House, which serves as the university president’s official residence. Building Affordability is a component of Build Missouri, a capital improvements initiative that will fund nearly 500 projects statewide. The program provides for repairs and renovations at veterans homes, conservation areas, state parks, and Highway Patrol facilities in addition to college and university campuses. It also contains dollars for the completion of a new mental hospital in Fulton. Nixon said the financing package was made possible by fiscal discipline in the wake of a historic economic downturn beginning in 2008. The governor credited both the Legislature and his administration with having the foresight to take advantage of low interest rates during the recession in order to pay down public debt at a time when other states where borrowing heavily in order to bridge severe budget shortfalls. Based on current projections, Nixon said, Missouri will have lower levels of state-issued bonding debt at the end of his second term in January 2017 than when he first took office seven years ago. Nixon also boasted that his administration’s tough stance on spending is responsible for Missouri’s continued AAA credit rating, which allows the state, as well as public institutions like Northwest, to borrow money at lower rates. Lauding Northwest as a model of affordability, Nixon cited the most recent report on campus pricing by The College Board, which he said placed Missouri No. 1 nationally in terms of holding down tuition increases at public universities over the past six years. Nixon said the state’s efforts to keep student costs under control would continue next year if the Legislature signs off on his proposal to increase funding for colleges and universities by 6 percent in 2016-2017 in exchange for a tuition freeze. The proposal provides a performance-based $55.7 million increase in spending that would bring the state’s higher education budget to just under $1 billion and provide $9.2 million in new dollars for programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Northwest President John Jasinski praised the governor for making higher education “a linchpin of his budget for this next fiscal year” and asking the General Assembly to raise state spending on college and university campuses to what would be an all-time high. At Kawasaki, Nixon toured the production floor and addressed a group of veterans who currently work at the plant. He also presented Kawasaki officials with a plaque containing a small uniform flag worn in combat by Lt. Col. Leif Thompson, a pilot with the U.S. Army National Guard who flew missions in Afghanistan. The plaque notes Kawasaki’s participation in Show-Me Heroes, a state program established in 2010 that seeks to match veterans with employers through local Missouri Career Center offices. Maryville’s Kawasaki plant was one of the first employers in the state to join the program and has since provided jobs to about 30 former U.S. military personnel. According to the governor’s office, more than 4,500 Missouri businesses have taken the “Show-Me Heroes pledge” resulting in the hiring nearly 8,000 veterans over the past six years.

Nodaway News Leader Thursday, October 15, 2015 Amid local subcontractors pouring concrete footings, officials from Wells Bank of Platte City ramped up their Maryville construction project by hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on October 13 at the 2920 South Main site. The new bank, a 3,600-square-foot building, is slated to open in the spring of 2016. The facility will be the first business in the new business development park, Fountain Park, located across from Applebee’s. Bill and Bonnie Ingels are the prime partners. The management of the Maryville Wells Bank facility will be led by Mark Quick, a native of Oregon, as branch manager and loan officer. Quick has eight years of experience in the financial services industry; currently with Bank CBO, formerly The Citizens Bank of Oregon. He and his wife and their four children recently moved to Maryville. In January 2016, Wells Bank is also scheduled to merge with Bank CBO. With this merger and the new Maryville location, Wells Bank will have banking center in Maryville, Oregon, Savannah, Platte City and Kansas City.

Tony Brown, Maryville Daily Forum Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2015 7:57 am Maryville has been chosen as one of the “50 Safest College Towns in America” in an online listing compiled by SafeWise, a web-based company that markets home security systems and security consulting services. Ranked No. 32, Maryville was the only Missouri city on the list, finishing just behind Athens, Ohio, home to Ohio University, and ahead of Logan Utah, which boasts Utah State. The top five cities recognized were Brookings, South Dakota (South Dakota State University), Charleston, Illinois (Eastern Illinois University), Rexburg, Idaho (Brigham Young University-Idaho), Elon, North Carolina (Elon University), and Canyon, Texas (West Texas A&M). In compiling the rankings, SafeWise said it evaluated the most recent FBI crime statistics, combining that data with company research focused on safety-related programs and initiatives. Maryville Public Safety Director Keith Wood said the city’s inclusion on the list resulted from cooperative efforts involving law enforcement, private citizens, and Northwest Missouri State University, which offers numerous programs related to personal security, victim advocacy, responsible drinking, and healthy relationships. “Maryville Public Safety would like to thank our citizens, law enforcement partners, and Northwest Missouri State University for joint efforts in community betterment initiatives,” Wood said. “Public Safety continues to work with the Nodaway County Sheriffs Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Northwest Missouri State University Police Department, and various support services to ensure an ongoing commitment toward community safety.” City Manager Greg McDanel likewise said Maryville’s inclusion on the list resulted from both effective enforcement and local services and institutions, such as the Children and Family Center of Northwest Missouri, which operates a domestic abuse shelter, and a victims’ rights initiative spearheaded by Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice. Other initiatives promoting citizen safety include the university’s Safe Ride Home late-night shuttle service, a bar patrol program operated by Maryville Public Safety, and the Sexual Assault and Violence Education (SAVE) initiative headed up by Meghann Kosman of the Children and Family Center and MPS Officer Sarah Kahmann.