Hancock & Kelley: STL crime numbers, Luetkemeyer retires, anniversary of Jan. 6 riots

ST. LOUIS – It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political debate on Hancock and Kelley for Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.

Republican consultant John Hancock and Democratic consultant Michael Kelley discussed the following topics:

• The City of St. Louis is reporting major drops in crime, but critics don’t trust the numbers.

• Missouri Governor Mike Parson issued an executive order banning foreign adversaries from owning Missouri farmland within 10 miles of military installations. Fellow Republicans say it’s too little, too late.

• There are growing calls for Governor Parson and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to take action against the owner of the Northview Village Nursing Home in St. Louis. The home was closed with little warning and without full accounting for the 175 residents. One resident with schizophrenia has been living on the street without his medication since Dec. 15.

• Longtime Republican Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer makes a surprising announcement with his party clinging to a slim majority in the House of Representatives: he is not running for reelection. He represents Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from Jefferson and St. Charles counties to Jefferson City and the Lake of the Ozarks.

• As the nation marks the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, President Biden makes the riots the top issue of his reelection campaign, jettisoning his focus on “Bidenomics.”

• The U.S. Supreme Court will review the removal of former President Donald Trump from primary election ballots in Colorado. This comes as a new effort is launched to remove Mr. Trump from the primary ballot in Illinois.

• Big names turn up on unsealed court documents in a lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

• Our quote of the week was from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who undid a mask mandate for city employees just hours after it was issued. Upon further review, she said masking was recommended but no longer “mandated.”

Remember, if it’s Sunday in St. Louis, it’s Hancock and Kelley on FOX 2. We hope to see you next Sunday morning at 8:30.

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