Governor Nixon announces the opening of a sugar substitute’s production facility in Moberly. Nixon says the new facility will create 612 new jobs. (Photo by: Rebecca Wolfson, KBIA News.)

On this week’s Business Beat from KBIA:A Columbia Youth Program is hoping to make it easier for teens to find summer jobs. Plus, a multinational sugar substitute company is setting up shop in Moberly. And, the Department of Economic Development releases its June 2010 state jobs report. Hosted by KBIA’s Courtney Flatt.

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Youth around the country may be having a harder time finding summer jobs than ever before.  But, in Columbia, one program is hoping to help out a bit.

Gov. Jay Nixon announced last Friday that a large company will soon set up shop in Moberly. The town of less than 15,000 people in America’s Heartland will soon be the new home to a multinational sugar substitute company’s production facility.

Also good news on the jobs front: The Missouri Department of Economic Development released a report Monday that says employment numbers increased in June for the fifth straight month. The DED report says last month’s employment rate was the lowest Missouri has seen in a year, at 9.1 percent. That’s all in spite of loosing about 3,300 government jobs in June, which were mainly temporary Census workers.

The Columbia Farmer's Market. (Photo by Laura Parkinson, KBIA)

Some families may soon be able to stretch the value of their food stamps at the Columbia Farmer’s Market. KBIA’s Maureen McCollum brings us this story.

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The Access to Healthy Foods Initiative is a way to help people afford fresh produce. It’s a collaboration by Sustainable Farms and Communities, PedNet, and the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health.

About 50 families will be selected to test the program through the Women, Infants, and Children Program, or WIC.

The Columbia Farmer’s Market has been accepting food stamps for years. But, due to the market’s higher prices, the credits can not buy as much as cheaper food. Sustainable Farms and Communities Executive Director Casey Corbin says he saw this as a problem.

“I don’t think people should be forced by our food system, or the way it currently is, to buy the lowest common denominator food, you know, junk.”

Corbin says farmers are already selling produce at the lowest prices possible to maintain a living wage. So, he says, Access to Healthy Foods was created to put more money in the pockets of those on food stamps.

It works like this: When a person goes to the Farmer’s Market and asks for $20 off their EBT card, they’ll get $40 in Farmer’s Market tokens. Corbin says some vendors have even thrown on additional discounts for program recipients, but this is not required. The vendors are then fully reimbursed for the food. Organizers are still developing the criteria for which WIC recipients will test this program.

The initial program will cost $25,000. Corbin says he hopes to bring in more money through donations over the years so more families can have access to healthy foods.

Sam Robinson is the Director of PedNet’s Healthy Community Initiative. He says recipients will meet with caseworkers regularly to asses the program. Robinson says the Access to Healthy Foods Initiative will offer more than doubled food stamps.

“Like nutritional literacy classes, or some budgeting classes on how to budget and spend money on healthy choices that will help your family long term.”

Organizers hope the program will cultivate permanent healthy choices in families. They say exposing children to fresh fruits and vegetables early causes them to actually like healthy foods at an early age. Corbin says this is a way to prevent health issues in the future.

“We’re able to address and target an audience that has higher rates of health issues due to poor nutrition and specifically target them and not only say, Hey, here’s a little bit better food,’ but say, Here’s the best food in town,’ and I think that’s something Columbia should be very proud of.”

Corbin says he hopes to have the Access to Healthy Foods Initiative running by the end of the month.

Competitors at Eldon's Rockin' Barbecue festival.

On this week’s Business Beat from KBIA: Competitive barbecue teams serve up their best at Eldon’s Rockin’ Barbecue. Plus, in Fulton, one organization is trying to convince city officials to ban outdoor smoking. Hosted by KBIA’s Courtney Flatt.

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Barbecue – it’s a sacred rite of summer. The word brings visions of poolside parties with a grill or a family reunion in a park. But for competitive barbecue teams, the word means something more: a hobby, an obsession, and even some cash. The Kansas City Barbecue Society, or KCBS, sanctions barbecue contests nationwide. Teams submit their best chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket to be judged by KCBS-certified barbecue judges. Winners earn cash prizes, and the best get invited to big-money contests, like the American Royal Invitational. There the grand champs win $10,000.

Last week, we heard debate about a proposed smoking ban ordinance in Jefferson City. And in Fulton, one organization has tried to convince city officials to follow in the footsteps of other cities around the state and ban outdoor smoking.

Missouri Budget Director Linda Luebbering (Photo by: Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio.)

State revenues in Missouri dropped by more than 9 percent during the fiscal year that just ended, making it one of the worst in recent memory. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marshall Griffin reports.

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When Fiscal Year 2010 ended on Wednesday, the state of Missouri had collected $6.75 billion in taxes, compared to nearly $7.5 billion the year before. The drop in revenue forced Gov. Jay Nixon to cut the budget several times during the course of the year. But Budget Director Linda Luebbering doesn’t expect that to happen again this year.

“The reductions that the governor made back in June should be about where we need to be to keep this budget balanced, so we’ll obviously monitor it regularly.”

The good news: Luebbering says collections of both sales and withholding taxes increased during the last three months. And corporate income and franchise taxes rose by nearly 14 percent last month. In Jefferson City, I’m Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio.

Web Extra! Hear more from Budget Director Linda Luebbering.

“That would have been challenging enough, but the previous fiscal year was a decline of 6.9 percent from the year before that, so we have had two years back-to-back negative revenue, which is just unheard of.”

Luebbering says FY 2012, which starts one year from now, could be even worse, because Missouri is set to lose nearly $900 million in federal stabilization funds. Revenue is expected to grow this year, albeit at very low levels. Luebbering says, though, it should be enough to avoid any more mid-year budget cuts. Sales and withholding taxes have also increased during the past three months.

Missouri Capitol Building

Missouri Senate Leaders are bypassing a committee that’s blocking legislation to provide auto incentives during the ongoing special session. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marshall Griffin reports.

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Republican Chuck Purgason, chair of the senate’s Fiscal Oversight committee, is blocking a vote on the House bill that contains both incentives for Ford Motor Company and tax breaks for underground data centers. So Senate leaders have crafted a separate bill that excludes the data centers. It’s sponsored by Republican Luann Ridgeway of Platte County.

“I’ve eliminated everything in my bill having to do with manufacturing that is not included in the governor’s call, so we keep ourselves legal in that respect.”

Because of the bill’s smaller size, it won’t have to go through Purgason’s committee. He says Missouri should be giving incentives to small business owners instead. Purgason is also running for the U.S. Senate.

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Hear what Republican Chuck Purgason of Howell County has to say. He chairs the Senate committee on Fiscal Oversight. Purgason chose not to hold a vote on the House bill that contains both incentives for Ford Motor Company and tax breaks for underground data storage centers.

“Right now, we’re spending $700 million a year on tax credits, and we’re looking at a billion-dollar shortfall, so we have some tough choices to make, and if you want real job creation, you’ll go to who creates jobs, and that’s small businesses all across this state.”

Purgason is also running for the U.S. Senate. The alternate bill only contains auto manufacturing incentives, and is small enough to bypass the Fiscal Oversight Committee. The Missouri Senate could take it up when they meet again next Thursday.

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