From the Republic Monitor:

Although it’s a start, it is nowhere near where they want to be. 

It is a problem that no longer can be ignored. In years past the Southeast Missouri Football Officials Association (SEMOFOA) has been able to recruit new, younger referees to officiate high school football games on Friday night. The problem is that flow of younger people has slowed considerably.

 But there has been an uptick on some new recruits in the past year.

“There has been a lot of stories written about this problem,” Laurentius said. “I can’t nail down exactly what the reasoning is behind them coming on, but it definitely helps. It’s a starting point.”

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