Governor Parson is a veteran who served six years in the United States Army. He served more than 22 years in law enforcement, including 12 years as the sheriff of Polk County. He also served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2005-2011, in the Missouri Senate from 2011-2017, and as Lieutenant Governor in 2017-2018.
The workplace and the economy look very different than they used to, and they will continue to change thanks to technology and automation. The 21st century workplace demands require our students to be equipped and ready with the skills to succeed. Businesses all across Missouri stress the need to find solutions to develop a skilled workforce – preparing the next generation for high demand, high wage jobs.
We need to rethink some of the ways we provide educational opportunities for our students – offering more certificates, apprenticeships, and alternative credentialing programs.
In order to ensure Missouri is on the right track, we must give our students and workers the skills and tools to be successful. Our schools play an important role in preparing our students entering the workforce, but in order to compete on a national level, we must push ourselves to do better.
To accomplish our goals, we need to align the focus of our businesses, the education system, and government. We all must work together to provide better opportunities for those who are to follow.
We have to efficiently connect different regions of our state because our biggest cities and our smallest towns depend on each other. By improving our infrastructure, we will have easy access to transporting goods throughout Missouri and across the nation. Using our rivers, interstates, highways, and airports, we will be further able to expand into new trade markets around the United States and the world.
Our state’s highway system is the 7th largest in the nation and ranked 46th in revenue per mile. Missouri’s infrastructure needs are long overdue and now is the time to take action.
Expanding infrastructure also includes creating access to high-speed internet. Missouri ranks 42nd in broadband availability; 1 in 5 Missourians lack access to high-speed internet service. Making this crucial improvement will allow rural and urban regions to thrive together, and it will give every Missourian access to being a competitor on state, national, and global levels. If Missouri is going to compete, we need to compete to win.
Missouri’s success starts and ends with the people and communities we serve. To make real change, we must continue to invest in issues that provide individuals with more opportunities, strengthen public safety, and improve the health and well-being of Missourians. Governor Parson’s budget calls for numerous investments in safety and health – both issues that will build stronger communities and broaden the path to success that we can achieve.
A workforce with the knowledge and skills to fill the jobs of tomorrow is critical to Missouri’s path forward. We have made major progress on this issue over the past year, and we must continue to take action, improve education, and provide more options for high-demand job training. From early childhood education to post-secondary opportunities, Governor Parson’s budget makes substantial investments aimed at giving more Missourians the education and training necessary to meet the demands of the future.
Situated at the crossroads of America, Missouri’s infrastructure system is a lifeline for transportation across the nation. Maintaining our state’s roads, bridges, ports, and waterways is critical to ensuring we have the framework for success going forward, and while outstanding progress was made last year, there is still more to be done. Governor Parson’s budget reflects his continued commitment to revitalizing our infrastructure, calling for key investments in transportation as well as water resources, levee rehabilitation, and rural broadband.
As public servants, it is our responsibility in state government to provide reliable and responsive service to the people of Missouri. Building on last year’s historic progress, Governor Parson and his Cabinet team remain committed to making state government more efficient and accountable by investing in our workforce, incentivizing better performance, improving budget discipline, and changing how we work to better serve Missourians.
Governor Parson is committed to ensuring all Missourians have access to skilled health care professionals. A key part of this is improving access to providers and hospitals, especially in Missouri's rural areas. Governor Parson's continued investments in broadband and telemedicine infrastructure are designed to help health care providers diagnose and treat patients who might otherwise lack access to quality care.