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U.S. NEWS Thursday 12 sepTember 2019
Governor:

Missouri in

‘crisis’ with

violence in

large cities

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mis-
souri is in a “crisis” with
violent crime in its larg-
est cities, Gov. Mike
Parson said Tuesday.
Parson met with St.
Louis Mayor Lyda Krew-
son, St. Louis County
Executive Sam Page
and about a dozen
other area leaders to In this Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019 photo, debris litters the ground at Advance Auto Parts following
severe weather in Sioux Falls, S.D.
address violence in the Associated Press
city. The officials didn’t Tornado hits South Dakota
release a new crime-
fighting plan, but Par-
son said one will be an- hospital: ‘All are safe and sound’
nounced soon, possibly
later this month. By DAVE KOLPACK Natasha Sundet, a 46-year- hurt outside. Noting that
It was the second time Associated Press old nurse manager at the Sioux Falls hasn’t experi-
Parson came to St. Lou- When the warning sound- behavioral health cen- enced a tornado since Oc-
is in the past week to ed shortly before midnight ter, arrived at the hospital tober 1996, Heitkamp said
discuss the crime prob- that a tornado could be shortly after the patients even the weather service
lem. Last week, he met approaching, the clock had been moved and said staff ducked for cover as
with about two dozen turned into a stopwatch for she hardly recognized the the storm rolled in.
faith leaders along with staff members working the hospital and grounds. On top of it all, there was
Krewson. He also met night shift at a behavioral “There are big chunks of a snafu with the city’s out-
last week in Jefferson health center at a Sioux metal hanging from the door siren warning system.
City with the Legislative Falls hospital. building; broken glass ev- Most of the sirens sounded
Black Caucus to dis- “We had 10 minutes to erywhere; tree limbs and in southeastern Sioux Falls,
cuss crime. St. Louis has wake up 102 residents, get trash; cars that have been where the most serious
already seen 138 homi- them to the center of the picked up and moved damage occurred, but
cides in 2019 and is on building,” said David Flicek, with their windows blown they were not activated in
pace to top last year’s the president and CEO of out,” Sundet said. “When the rest of the city. Mayor
total of 186. Eleven of Avera McKennan Hospital I walked into the building Paul TenHaken cited a “mis-
this year’s victims were and University Health Cen- there was water pouring in communication” among
children, and two other ter in South Dakota’s larg- through the ceiling. I have staff and vowed it would
child deaths are being est city. “And all are safe never seen anything like it.” never happen again.
investigated as “suspi- and sound.” Of the 102 patients who “I’m owning it. It’s my
cious.” All 13 children Although a significant tor- were moved, 39 of them team. It’s my administra-
were black. Homicides nado had not struck Sioux were adolescents, Sundet tion,” he said. At least 37
are also on the rise in Falls for 25 years, the Av- said. buildings collapsed or were
Kansas City, which has era Health System hospi- “We had children rang- damaged by the storm,
recorded 103 homi- tals have kept up regular ing from 4 to 17 who were and residents have been
cides so far this year. preparedness training. This huddled with their blankets asked to stay away from
That’s on pace to top work paid off when one of and really just frightened the hardest-hit areas, Fire
the 138 killings totaled three EF-2 tornadoes pum- and in shock,” she said. Chief Brad Goodroad said
in 2018. Both cities meled the hospital cam- The National Weather Ser- at a news conference early
have among the na- pus. The twister with wind vice has determined that Wednesday.
tion’s highest homicide speeds of up to 130 mph three EF-2 tornadoes struck Other damaged business-
rates. Parson, a Repub- also roared over the sys- the city overnight, lead me- es included an Advanced
lican, called the cities’ tem’s heart hospital after teorologist Todd Heitkamp Auto Parts store where a
violent crime rate a a man was brought in hav- said Wednesday. wall collapsed. Kohl’s and
“crisis” after meeting ing a heart attack. Doctors Dozens of buildings were Best Buy lost part of their
with the leaders. But and nurses continued op- damaged or destroyed, roofs and Pizza Ranch suf-
he remained noncom- erating on the man — and trees torn up and power fered heavy damage.
mittal on whether he saved his life — as the storm lines downed. But no one The Red Cross opened a
would support chang- blew on, according to the has been reported killed or shelter at the Sioux Empire
es in Missouri’s gun CEO of Avera Heart Hospi- even seriously injured in the Fairgrounds’ armory for
laws, instead saying tal, Nick Gibbs. devastation of the storm. people displaced by the
the matter needs to be “We talk at our hospital Flicek said seven people storm. The city of about
addressed by the full about doing drills. I’ve got suffered minor injuries from 190,000 people lies about
Legislature next year.q to tell you our staff was falling debris at the hospital 240 miles (390 kilometers)
courageous,” said Flicek. campus and another was southwest of Minneapolis.q