KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Governor Jay Nixon spent Monday traveling around Kansas City, touting the number of jobs he’s created in the past four years. And at this biofuel plant in the metro, more jobs are being created as it expands its operations by 40 percent.
Senator Roy Blunt and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver joined the Governor at Paseo Biofuels on Tuesday off I-29 and Front Street. They applauded the $16 million investment by the farmers who own the facility to increase the production and the capacity of the soybean based biofuel facility.
Missouri farmers grow more soybeans than all other crops combined, so there is plenty of supply to make this renewable energy. The plant will add two full time jobs.
The Governor also talked about how unemployment in Missouri has been below the national average, how the Show-Me state added close to 18-thousand jobs last month, and how he wants to compete with Kansas to attract businesses to the Missouri side.
“We have had our share of, obviously, significant investments here, whether it’s the Freight quote moving one thousand jobs from Kansas to Missouri or the water company right up here that’s moving a number of jobs over here, but the bottom line is making an environment so this entire region can grow is the long term, we will continue to compete.”
Governor Nixon’s opponent, Dave Spence, offers a different view. He says more than 100,000 people have stopped looking for work in the past two years, and if they counted them in the unemployment figures, Missouri would rank as one of the worst states for jobs. So jobs will remain a big focus in the upcoming election, but one thing can’t be argued – the expansion of biofuel plant is good for the environment and good for Kansas City.
