
Daily's Premium Meats expansion will bring over 100 jobs to St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A groundbreaking ceremony took place Monday outside of Daily's Premium Meats to officially start an expansion that will double the size of the plant.
Many political figures were in attendance, including Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe.
We're going to continue as governor to make sure Missouri is a place businesses can grow," Gov. Kehoe said. "Where innovation is welcome and where our workforce remains one of the strongest in the country."
The $95 million expansion will bring in about 115 new jobs and now St. Joseph, Missouri, will produce 5% of the bacon in the United States.
Buchanan County Western District Commissioner Ron Hook said the new jobs and more bacon were some of the main positives from the expansion.
"We got a of workforce people really wanting to work, get to work and have good jobs," Hook said. "Buchanan County and the City of St. Joseph are here to help any business around to create more jobs for the people that need the work."
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Natalie Hawn said one of the successes St. Joseph has had is "growing its own."
"When we have a company here, really working with them to expand here versus other parts of the country and that is exactly what happened here with Daily's," Hawn said. "They are a great partner and they're looking to expand here in St. Joseph, where they already had a plant, literally doubling the size of what they have today."
The expansion will take five years to complete. Gov. Kehoe complimented the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce during his speech and said they have an understanding of "what the end game is," which is to create more opportunities for Missourians.
"Whenever you have a chamber that is that involved, that integrated into the community, you see good success like we have here at Daily's," Gov. Kehoe said. "We couldn't be happier with the (near) $100 million expansion and the over 100 jobs we are adding to the area.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Republicans look for reset on Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill'
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is looking for a reset and to build momentum on President Trump's big, beautiful bill after it struggled through a tough week on Capitol Hill. Trump's July 4 deadline for signing the bill is slipping away as GOP senators battle each other over spending cuts and other issues in the House-passed bill. But Thune wants to get the legislation back on track by convening small working groups to hash out key components of the bill, according to Republicans familiar with his plan. Thune is hoping to build enough momentum in the Senate's various committees that the components of the bill come together in a grand compromise by the end of the month. But rank-and-file senators who have some of the strongest objections to the legislation have yet to see key pieces of text. And Elon Musk's scathing criticism of the bill as a 'mountain of disgusting pork' is creating political headwinds for the legislation. A GOP senator familiar with Thune's strategy says he will break out portions of the bill to Senate Republican working groups in an effort to make progress on the sections that face the strongest objections — such as nearly $800 billion in spending reductions for Medicaid and $267 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 'Thune's going to do the same thing he did for other things where folks have deeper issues. He'll put small groups together. No one is going to be able to say they weren't listened to,' the GOP senator said. Thune's plan to involve a broader swath of his caucus in negotiations on a must-pass bill is a departure from former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who tended to keep the details of major deals close to the vest until shortly before he unveiled them, the senator said. Senate Republicans control 53 seats and can afford only three defections and still pass the bill. No Democrat is expected to support it, and it is not subject to a filibuster. Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) told GOP colleagues at a meeting last week the bill already faces two likely Republican 'no' votes. Thune told The Hill that he wants to inject fresh momentum into the bill next week and move at 'full speed' toward Trump's July 4 deadline, even though he told GOP colleagues privately earlier this year that getting the legislation to Trump's desk by the August recess is a more realistic target. 'We're continuing to have meetings with groups and committees,' he said. 'Full speed ahead, a lot of conversations, getting everybody comfortable.' The biggest obstacle the bill faces is that many Republican senators are demanding more deficit reduction but a group of lawmakers, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), are objecting to the biggest deficit-reduction in the bill currently: Hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending cuts. This has Republican senators looking for new strategies to further reduce the deficit without cutting more deeply into Medicaid or SNAP. The latest proposal that has interest from several members of the Senate Finance Committee, including Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), is a proposal to root out 'waste, fraud and abuse' in the Medicare Advantage program. Cassidy has a bipartisan proposal cosponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to crack down on 'upcoding,' a practice whereby insurance companies bill Medicare for additional diagnoses that may not be medically necessary or urgent. The proposal could raise as much as $275 billion over 10 years. Marshall said he's getting 'a huge number of complaints about Medicare Advantage from our seniors,' a big increase in dissatisfaction compared to just four years ago. 'Now many, many seniors call and say they feel like they've been taken [advantage of.] They can't see the doctor they want to, no one told them that. They can't go to the hospital [around] town. There's been a lot of fly-by-night Medicare Advantage programs coming in to take care of people. I think it's a huge problem,' Marshall said. Medicare Advantage plans have a financial incentive to make beneficiaries appear sicker than they might be because they are paid based on the health of an individual patient. Some Republicans, however, are pushing back hard on the idea of turning to Medicare for spending cuts, even if they are intended to address what proponents call 'waste, fraud and abuse.' 'I hear talk about Medicare, which I think is insane,' Hawley said. 'I don't like the idea of that at all.' Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), meanwhile, is floating a proposal for the Federal Reserve to stop paying interest on bank reserves, a practice that Congress implemented during the 2008 financial crisis to stabilize the banking sector. 'For most of the history of the Federal Reserve, they did not pay interest on reserves held by banks. And then in 2008 Congress changed the law and they spend roughly spend roughly $100 billion a year. And so eliminating that would save a trillion dollars over 10 years,' he said. Cruz said the idea is 'certainly under discussion' as part of the search for new proposals to improve the big, beautiful bill's budget score. Senate Republican leaders say the House-passed bill would reduce spending by $1.6 trillion over the next decade but a group of Republican senators want to get that number closer to $2 trillion. Thune has met in small groups with GOP colleagues to discuss their concerns with Medicaid reforms and lawmakers say they're happy with the level of engagement so far. Moran, who warned on the floor earlier this year, that he could not support Medicaid changes that imperil the fiscal health of rural hospitals, said he doesn't think the bill will need to be marked up as long as he continues to have solid input with the negotiators. 'I don't expect the bill to be the House bill. And we'll work to put our priorities in front of the Finance and Budget Committees to see what kind of success' we can have in making changes, Moran said. 'There's lots of places I have issues.' He said he has concerns about reforms to health care provider taxes, which states have used to draw more federal Medicaid funding. Republicans are uncomfortable with the latest Congressional Budget Office estimate that changes to Medicaid and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act could cause an estimated 10.9 million Americans to lose health care coverage. Collins, Murkowski and Moran have also raised concerns about cuts to SNAP and the effort to shift more of the administrative costs of the programs onto states. Murkowski, Moran, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( meanwhile, are raising objections to the quick phaseout of renewable energy tax breaks in the House bill. Capito is concerned about House language that would phase out federal tax support for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub in West Virginia if construction doesn't get underway by the end of this year. 'You have to be under construction by 2025, the end of this year. Our hydrogen hub cannot be under construction by that time. So it's problematic for us. It'll be a lot of jobs and a lot of energy-for-the-future types of opportunities for our state. I'm trying to work with other folks who have difficulties with this,' Capito said. Republican senators say the House-passed bill can't get a majority vote in the Senate without significant changes and predict it will take a lot of negotiating before it comes to the floor. 'It's a work in progress,' said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to the Senate GOP leadership team. 'We don't have as thin a margin as the House, but we got to get to 51.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump-Musk divorce threatens the president and the entire Republican Party
Few expected the relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk to survive four years, but the spectacular collapse of this partnership has shocked even seasoned observers with its speed and intensity. Now, as two of the world's most powerful men openly clash, there are seismic implications for the country as a whole and the Republican Party specifically. Put another way, not only does this fissure expose cracks in the GOP and MAGA coalition, it's also a considerable threat to Republicans' midterms hopes and Trump's signature legislation. The fight, which began two weeks ago when Musk expressed 'disappointment' with Trump's 'one big, beautiful' bill had initially been confined to disagreements over the legislation, rather than personal attacks. Then, on Thursday afternoon, it escalated in unprecedented, dramatic fashion. Following Trump's recent comment that he would have won Pennsylvania without Musk's help, Musk replied 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.' That was just Musk's opening salvo against the man he spent roughly $300 million to get elected. The tech billionaire then went on a blistering war path. He claimed Trump was on 'the Epstein list,' supported impeachment — a touchy subject for the twice-impeached Trump — and claimed that tariffs would cause a recession. Not content with attacking Trump, Musk has also threatened to fund primary challenges to Republicans who support the bill, and has criticized both Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.). With unprecedented speed, Musk went from the man who could pour hundreds of millions into Republican coffers to Republicans' enemy number one. Influential commentator Steve Bannon pushed for Musk's deportation, claiming he's an illegal alien, and Trump threatened to cancel all government contracts with Musk's multiple companies, saying Musk 'went CRAZY.' Whether or not the rumors of an impending détente between the two is enough to heal the rupture remains to be seen, but it's unlikely that all of the pieces will ever get put back together. Given Musk's deep pockets and control of social media platform X, where he has a cult-like following, Trump and the Republicans now find themselves in a treacherous spot at a precarious time. Indeed, even before the dramatic escalation, Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' was in limbo in the Senate. As Alexander Bolton noted in this publication prior to Thursday's blowup, Trump's bill is 'losing momentum in the Senate in the face of blistering attacks from Elon Musk.' To that end, Musk's criticisms of the bill and threats to primary its Republican supporters has already led two House Republicans who voted for the bill, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and John Rose (R-Tenn.), to come out against some of it. It appears that this fight has brought some Republicans back into Trump's fold. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who had been opposed to the bill prior to its passage in the House, condemned Musk, saying he 'crossed the line.' And Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn), another House conservative, dismissed Musk's influence, saying he is 'just another shiny object.' For their part, Republican senators who may have had doubts about Trump's signature legislation now risk being seen as taking Musk's side and being disloyal to the president. However, it would be a mistake to overlook the implications of the breakup or the dangers for Republicans. If he wants, Musk could very easily fund primaries against vulnerable GOP House members, and his control of X gives him unprecedented influence over the media ecosystem. Further, Musk's influence among the Silicon Valley cohort that moved stridently to the right in 2024 could peel off a new group of Republican voters and donors. In that same vein, there are possible electoral consequences for Republicans, even if tempers between Trump and Musk cool down. Trump was counting on the bill's passage to be a significant political tailwind that would boost his polling numbers and Republicans' midterm hopes, particularly given the ongoing chaos over tariffs and trade policy. Now, whichever version of the bill eventually passes, Republicans look like the party of chaos. It is entirely possible that this ongoing feud dents voters' confidence in Republicans' ability to competently govern, something Democrats are clearly hoping for. As the Wall Street Journal reported, Democrats are 'reveling' about the fight, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reposting Musk's attacks and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) taking digs at the 'GOP civil war.' To be sure, despite Musk's efforts, it remains likely that a version of Trump's 'one, big, beautiful bill' will still pass, but Republicans now have a bigger headache. Ultimately, divorces are always messy, but the Trump-Musk divorce is unprecedented, and it could not have come at a worse time for Republicans. With razor-thin margins in the House and the absence of Trump's much-touted trade bills, it poses the most significant threat to Republicans' midterm hopes, and by extension, the rest of Trump's term. Douglas E. Schoen and Carly Cooperman are pollsters and partners with the public opinion company Schoen Cooperman Research based in New York. They are co-authors of the book, 'America: Unite or Die.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Punxsutawney Phil could deliver Michigan GOP tax cut proposals
PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 2: Groundhog handler AJ Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting 6 more weeks of winter during the 139th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Friday February 2, 2025 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his den. Early spring arrives if he does not see his shadow, causing Phil to remain above ground. (Photo by) As Republicans attempt to regain control of state government next year, I'm reminded of the movie, 'Groundhog Day.' In this 1993 film, Bill Murray plays a cynical weatherman who goes to Punxsutawney, Pa. to film the town's annual Groundhog Day celebration and finds himself reliving the same day over and over again. Likewise, Michigan Republican office holders and those seeking statewide and legislative seats have for decades repeatedly called for tax cuts they say will make us richer and transform the state's economy. They won't, but I'll get to that in a bit. Republicans running for office this year are turbocharging their tax-cut message. Not content to just slash tax rates, some are calling for the elimination of the personal income tax. (Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term limited and cannot run for reelection.) Former state Attorney General Mike Cox, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, is among those attempting to rebrand the income tax as a 'tax on work' and calling for its demise. Cox doesn't say on his campaign website how or if he would replace the approximate $12 billion the personal income tax annually generates. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Our paychecks should go toward our families, not Lansing's pet projects,' Cox said. Republicans say killing or at least cutting the income tax would put Michigan on a more competitive footing with Florida, Tennessee, Texas and a handful of other states that don't levy income taxes. A bill to trim the personal income tax rate from 4.25% to 4.05% passed the House in March but hasn't been taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate. 'If we cut taxes now and scale back regulations, we could become one of the nation's strongest economies,' Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) wrote on X this week. The wealthy West Michigan DeVos family is bankrolling a multimillion-dollar effort to return Michigan to GOP control. Former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has been named CEO of the newly formed Michigan Forward Network. 'We need to make Michigan reliably red,' McDaniel told the Wall Street Journal. 'We need to become a state like Ohio.' Fun fact: Michigan adopted the income tax in 1967 during the administration of Republican Gov. George Romney, McDaniel's grandfather. But taxes aren't the root of Michigan's long-term economic slide. A recent in-depth study of state tax policies by the conservative Tax Foundation shows that Michigan's tax structure stacks up pretty well with other states. The Foundation's 2025 State Tax Competitive Index ranks Michigan 14th best overall, ahead of every Great Lakes state except Indiana, which ranks 10th. The index is a compilation of personal, corporate, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes. Notably, Michigan ranks ninth best in corporate taxes, ahead of fast-growing states such as Florida, South Carolina and Texas. The study also describes Michigan's 4.25% personal income tax as 'relatively low.' Ohio, McDaniel's model state, ranks 35th in the Tax Foundation's tax competitiveness index. Michigan has the 33rd lowest state tax burden in the country, an April study by Wallet Hub found. State taxes as a percentage of personal income are lower now than they were 25 years ago, according to the Michigan House Fiscal Agency. Yet as business taxes were slashed and the tax burden on residents fell, Michigan became alarmingly poorer compared to the rest of the country. From at least as far back at 1970 until the mid-1990s, Michigan's per capita income was above or about the same as U.S. per capita income. But it has since fallen to about 88 percent of national per capita income, a revealing state Senate Fiscal Agency chart shows. The stunning decline occurred throughout Democratic and Republican administrations, largely caused by the significant loss of high-paying blue-collar auto and other manufacturing jobs. Most of those jobs aren't coming back, despite the focus on restoring manufacturing by both parties. And there's another problem: most Americans don't want to work in factories. Automaking will continue to be a critical part of the state's economy—unless President Donald Trump destroys it with his foolish trade war. But Michigan won't get wealthier unless it shifts from a business-focused to a talent-and-place-centered economic strategy. Boosting educational attainment, making our cities more attractive to young talent, and developing transit are requirements. Detroit 'would be a different city' with transit, billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert once said. 'And again, it would give us the ability to attract more talent here.' The Tax Foundation and Wallet Hub studies show that low taxes don't automatically translate to high incomes. States such as Illinois, Massachusetts and Minnesota have some of the worst tax climates and burdens in the country, the studies show. But they're also among the wealthiest states in the country. Those states feature a high percentage of college graduates, good public transit, and attractive cities and metro areas. Illinois and Minnesota, both blue states, have the highest per capita incomes among Great Lakes states. They should serve as economic models for Michigan, not Ohio. Otherwise, it will continue to be Groundhog Day in the Wolverine State.