2005 had its political and natural explosions for Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of low-income Missourians lost their state-funded health care. Thousands of Missouri businesses got some long-sought relief from the state.

For the first time in more than 80 years, Republicans ruled the Missouri Capitol, charting a new course for the state with results that have affected the lives of its residents.

The year 2005 was one of political change in the Show-Me State. Years of pent-up Republican policies burst forth from the legislature and were signed swiftly into law by new Gov. Matt Blunt.

But the year drew to a close with a real torrent, as a mountaintop reservoir burst open and washed away a home, vehicles and a popular state park.

In between, a baseball landmark was knocked down, businesses literally exploded in both the east and the west, a university was shaken by the death of a college athlete, and police finally declared solved the mysterious murder of a young girl who had come to be known as "Precious Doe."

All of that occurred long after an overcast January day, when Missouri's second-youngest governor took the oath of office with a pledge "to lead Missouri in a new direction."

"Change begins today, at this hour, in this place," Blunt said on Jan. 10, 2005, shortly after noon, on a stage erected on the south Capitol steps.

Some of those changes came as no surprise.

The enactment of new limits on liability lawsuits, new restrictions on workers' compensation claims, new incentives for businesses -- all had been central to Blunt's gubernatorial campaign, and all were overwhelmingly passed by Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

But some changes caught many Missourians off guard.

Medicaid cuts

As a candidate, Blunt opposed cutting people off the Medicaid health-care program for the poor "until we've done everything we can to ensure we're efficiently spending the Medicaid dollars that we have today."

Sixteen days into office, while also proposing other Medicaid savings, Blunt sought to cut about 90,000 low-income parents, elderly and disabled off the Medicaid rolls and reduce benefits for hundreds of thousands of others.

The Medicaid cuts sparked passionate debate and protests; a few demonstrators chained themselves to the doors of the House chamber. But the cuts ultimately were enacted. And many of the adults who remain on Medicaid no longer receive such services as routine dental care, eyeglasses, wheelchair batteries or crutches.

Also enacted was a new way of distributing money to public schools. But it failed to persuade a couple of hundred suing school districts to drop their claims that the state spends too little on education and distributes what it does spend unfairly.

As Blunt rolled up legislative victories, his father -- U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, of Springfield -- ascended to national prominence when House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted. The senior Blunt took over the job on an interim basis in September.

Not long before that, Republican Sen. Jim Talent drew a prominent challenger for his 2006 re-election bid -- Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill. The 2008 gubernatorial campaign also began this year, as Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon began mounting a challenge to Blunt.

While politicians got an early start, demolition crews got a late start -- although not quite as late as some had hoped -- at tearing down the nearly 40-year-old home of the St. Louis Cardinals. A playoff run that fell just short of the World Series accounted for the wait.

As Busch Stadium tumbled to make way for a new ballpark, another nearby landmark -- the Gateway Arch -- celebrated its 40th anniversary of standing firm. Some of its builders predicted it could stay that way for hundreds of years to come.

'Precious Doe' identified

In Kansas City, four years had passed since the decapitated body of an unidentified young girl was found in a park. In May, police announced that "Precious Doe" was Erica Michelle Green. Her mother and stepfather, both living in Oklahoma, were charged with her murder.

In Columbia, it was minutes that passed after University of Missouri football player Aaron O'Neal collapsed during a July workout, then was taken to the team's offices and finally to the hospital where he died. A medical examiner cited the cause of death as viral meningitis.

Time ran out in 2005 on the 131st Air National Guard Fighter Wing in St. Louis and thousands of other Missouri military jobs -- all eliminated by the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

And time seemed suddenly precious for some St. Louis residents as explosions rocked an industrial gas distribution business in June, shooting debris through a residential neighborhood and resulting in a massive fire. Six months later, Praxair Distribution Inc. still hasn't settled on where to rebuild.

An explosion also shook St. Joseph in October -- killing one and injuring 14 construction workers at the nearly completed Triumph Foods plant. The state fire marshal said gas from an open valve fueled the blast.

Utility company AmerenUE said pump instruments for a hydroelectric plant might have pushed too much water into its Taum Sauk reservoir before daybreak on Dec. 14, eroding the wall and unleashing a billion-gallon torrent of water down the side of a mountain.

The flood devastated Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park -- home of a natural rock water slide on the Black River -- and swept away the park superintendent's home, seriously injuring his three children.

Blunt flew to the scene by helicopter on a cold and overcast day -- a governor who had promised political change viewing the sudden changes wrought by nature.