Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says Missouri’s cattle industry needs more markets and competition. The Missouri Republican has teamed with a California Democrat to introduce a bill that the two lawmakers say will fix regulatory roadblocks that hurt livestock auctions and small meat packers. The “A-PLUS” Act would amend the Packers and Stockyards Act to allow […]
Tag: fix
Pause on federal student loan repayments extended by Biden through August 31
(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration Wednesday announced its plans to extend the pause on federal student loan repayments until the end of August. “I recognized in recently extending the COVID-19 national emergency, we are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented economic disruption it caused,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “If loan […]
U.S. House votes to decriminalize marijuana in federal law
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. House passed legislation Friday to legalize marijuana nationally, but its future is much less clear in the Senate. The House voted 220-204 to approve the measure, which would fix the split between federal law and 19 states where recreational marijuana is legal. Three Republicans joined all but two Democrats in approving the measure. […]
Missouri House bill would cut down on poisonous lead in school drinking water
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri children would be better protected from lead poisoning under a state legislative bill to require schools to nearly rid their drinking water of the dangerous toxin. The bill, heard Monday by the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, would require schools to test drinking water, remove old coolers and filter water where […]
Audio: Missouri River repairs continue three years after the “Great Flood of 2019”
Repairs continue to and along the Missouri River from the Flood of 2019. The disaster dubbed by the New York Times as “The Great Flood,” affected missions of people and caused serious damage to the Missouri River and its supporting structures. Dane Morris, the program manager for the Missouri River, says the agency’s Kansas City […]
Fire damages mobile home on Colt Street in Trenton
No injuries were reported from a mobile home fire in Trenton that started Friday morning, March 11th. Randall Allen is the homeowner. Trenton Fire Lieutenant Jeremy Summers says when firefighters arrived at 1914 Colt Street, they found fire outside and underneath the home near the rear door. A one and three-quarters-inch attack line was deployed […]
Parson digs in against evidence absolving reporter he accused of being a ‘hacker’
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday once again refused to accept the conclusions of an investigation by the highway patrol and Cole County prosecutor surrounding a reporter who uncovered a security flaw in a state website. Speaking to a gathering of reporters and editors in the governor’s mansion for Missouri Press Association Day, […]
Treasurer calls on Missouri pension funds to sell Russian investments in wake of Ukraine war
(Missouri Independent) – State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick wants Missouri to join other states that are dumping Russian investments from retirement funds. In a news release Tuesday, Fitzpatrick called for an emergency meeting of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) Board of Trustees for votes to block future purchases of Russian securities and consider how to divest […]
Benefit to assist Milan man with a brain injury set for February 26
A benefit will be held at the Milan Community Center for a man who received a brain injury related to COVID-19. The Benefit for Shawn Moody will start on February 26, 2022, at 5 pm. Moody is from Elma, Iowa, and is married to Gayla Albrecht-Moody from the Milan/Green City area. Attendees can eat and […]
EPA announces availability of $20 million to reduce lead in drinking water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $20 million in available grant funding to assist communities and schools with removing sources of lead in drinking water. This grant funding, and additional funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help make rapid progress on the goal of addressing lead and removing lead pipes across the country. “A […]
Missouri takes months to process Medicaid applications — longer than law allows
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News. Aneka French applied for Medicaid in October, not long after Missouri became the 38th state to expand eligibility for the program. But her application sat for months in a backlog with tens of thousands of others. While she waited, French, 45, an uninsured medical […]
Boil advisory issued for a portion of Trenton
Following a water outage this afternoon, a portion of Trenton has been placed on a precautionary boil advisory. Repairs were made to a water main break and the water shut off to fix the break requires a boil advisory while lab testing is conducted once water service is restored. Affected are Trenton Municipal Utility customers […]
As Missouri looks to legalize recreational marijuana, expungement gets renewed attention
(Missouri Independent) – The push to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri is coming from multiple directions, with a handful of proposed initiative petitions and at least one bill, and potentially more, backed by Republican lawmakers. Each hopes to place the issue on the 2022 ballot for voter approval. And each proposal also includes a […]
With voting rights stalled, some senators mull an update to the Electoral Count Act
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan group of senators is exploring legislation to overhaul how Congress counts Electoral College votes, but backers of stalled voting rights legislation are lukewarm on the effort as a substitute. The Electoral Count Act is an obscure law that has come under recent scrutiny, a year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. […]
88-year-old Lewis Creek Bridge on Highway 139 scheduled for replacement
A project begins soon to replace the 88-year-old Lewis Creek Bridge on Highway 139, approximately one mile north of Meadville. This is to be the third bridge to be replaced under the Fixing Access to Rural Missouri (FARM) Bridge Program. The Lewis Creek Bridge is scheduled to close Monday, January 24th, and remain closed through […]
Spickard Board of Aldermen review trash rates at Wednesday meeting
Members of the Spickard Board of Aldermen learned at a meeting last night that Rapid Removal is raising its fee for trash removal services at Spickard. Minutes provided by the city clerk indicate Rapid Removal is facing rising costs with motor vehicle fuel and landfills. A motion was made and unanimously approved to sign a […]
Billions headed to Missouri transportation fund from gas tax hike, infrastructure bill
(Missouri Independent) – With $6.5 billion on the way from the federal infrastructure bill and a newly increased gas tax, Missouri is ready to take a big bite out of $4.5 billion in unfunded highway needs, Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said this week. But that doesn’t mean the state is ready to tackle […]
Grundy R-5 Board of Education approves policy updates; announces dates of holiday break and Christmas Concert
Board candidate filing dates have been set for the Grundy R-5 School District subject to the regular election on April 5, 2022. The filing period opens on December 7 and closes on December 28, as stipulated in the new state law. Candidate filing at the school office in Galt can be done from 7:30 to […]
Missouri to provide credit monitoring for teachers after reporter found security flaw
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly a month after a reporter identified a security flaw in a state website that exposed teachers’ social security numbers, the state announced Wednesday it was offering a year of credit monitoring services to hundreds of thousands of teachers whose personal information was put at risk According to the Department of Elementary […]