Tagged: centralia

The mayors of Hallsville and Centralia, along with one Missouri legislator, have reached out to gun and ammunition manufacturers in an effort to attract those businesses as other states tighten gun restrictions.

State Representative Caleb Rowden said the decision to reach out to gun businesses is about improving the economy.

“This is a matter of jobs,” Rowden said. “If this was a different industry where it was so public that it made national news that these companies need relieving, I would have sent the same letter with some different bullet points.”

Three-term incumbent Centralia Mayor Tim Grenke defeated challengers Catherine Simmons and Farris Sanders last night.  Grenke says he’s excited about the results and that Centralia citizens chose to keep him in office for another term.

“A three way race is always kind of apprehensive, not knowing which way it’s going to go,” Grenke said.

Tim Grenke has been Centralia’s mayor for two full terms but now faces two challengers in the mayoral race: Ward One Alderman Catherine Simmons and Ward Three Alderman Farris Sanders. Grenke works as a safety specialist in the National Guard. He says he welcomes the challengers.

“A contested election, I think, is better for politics. Because it-it gets more of the issues out there. And I think that being able to articulate what your concerns are is important.”

The Missouri Department of Economic Development announced Monday the approval of Enhanced Enterprise Zone, or EEZ, designation to the city of Centralia, Mo.

In the program, businesses could receive tax incentives as encouragement to open up shop in a certain area of the city. Zone designation is based on certain demographic criteria, the potential to create sustainable jobs in a targeted industry and a demonstrated impact on local cluster development, the department says.