Missouri is launching an apprenticeship program to expand talent pipelines for Direct Support Professionals, who work with people with developmental disabilities. The Show-Me State, like many others, is facing a serious direct-care workforce shortage. To answer the need, the program Missouri Talent Pathways was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Duane Shumate, the state coordinator […]
(Missouri Independent) – A constitutional amendment asking Missourians to let lawmakers decide year-to-year whether the state will offer Medicaid to working-age adults moved closer to passage on Wednesday. By an 8-5 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee sent the House-passed proposal to the full Senate for debate. Only Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, voted with Democrats to oppose the measure, which […]
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick joined 26 other state financial officers in calling on the Biden Administration to promote American energy production. In a letter to the President, the state leaders emphasized the need to re-establish American energy independence amid the massive increase in the price of gas and diesel, which is contributing to the […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration sent a letter to federal, state, and local law enforcement partners warning of a nationwide spike in fentanyl-related mass-overdose events. Administrator Anne Milgram outlined the current threat and offered DEA support to law enforcement officers responding to these tragic incidents. “Fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate,” said DEA Administrator […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a package of budget bills spending $46.2 billion, with Republicans defeating repeated Democratic efforts to tap the state’s record surplus. The budget includes boosts to higher education funding, both for institutions and scholarships, as well as funding one of last year’s most controversial issues, Medicaid […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Senate is poised to take up a long-running effort to stymie the Grain Belt Express, a massive transmission line meant to carry wind energy from southwest Kansas across three states. The $2 billion project would carry 4,000 megawatts of energy, dropping some off in Missouri before ending at the Illinois-Indiana […]
An increasing number of jobs across Missouri require some level of training or education beyond high school, but rural students are less likely than their urban or suburban peers to enroll in and finish college. The rootEd Alliance wants to change it, by bringing career counselors into school districts to complement the work guidance counselors are already […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden called Thursday for U.S. energy companies to do their part in lowering gasoline prices by boosting supplies of oil, saying the industry should plow record profits back into increased production. Biden also said he would release 1 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve daily for the […]
Area residents will be recognized at a ceremony in May for earning a National Girl Scout award. Libby Hall of Trenton and Cynthia McWilliams of Carrollton will receive the award, which recognizes an individual’s service in Girl Scout leadership. Service Unit 820 Manager Abigail Looney says Hall and McWilliams have nurtured the Girl Scout program […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized another round of COVID-19 booster shots for people 50 and older, as well as those who are immunocompromised. The decision to amend an earlier emergency use authorization for a second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is meant to increase protection […]
A workforce development program in Missouri is set to expire in August, but the state Senate passed a bill to make it permanent. The bill is now in the state House. The Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant Program provides full-tuition scholarships to adults 25 and older who want to get a short-term credential or a degree in an […]
(Missouri Independent) – The White House announced a wave of new sanctions against Russia on Thursday while pledging to send more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and welcome up to 100,000 refugees. The new economic restrictions on Russia and billions more in aid for Ukrainians were detailed as President Joe Biden huddled with the North Atlantic […]
(Missouri Independent) – The prospect of Eric Greitens capturing the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri was already terrifying to his party’s leaders. He had been forced out of the governor’s office in 2018, resigning to settle felony charges and avoid impeachment by a Republican legislative supermajority. Yet despite all that, he’s consistently led […]
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees on March 22nd approved increases in tuition and fees as well as room and board. Tuition for NCMC district students will stay the same at $92 per credit hour for the 2022-2023 academic year. However, there is a $5 per credit hour increase for other Missouri residents, […]
While the past two years have fueled growth in remote work, most workers in Missouri still commute to their jobs. And some are opting for longer commutes: A new report from the University of Missouri Extension shows that more workers in the state are commuting to jobs outside their home counties compared to 20 years […]
Hedrick Medical Center has been recognized as a Missouri AIM Star by the Missouri Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health. The recognition signifies the hospital’s completion of the organization’s Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy Collaborative. Hypertension, known as high blood pressure, can have a devastating effect on a mother and baby. Pre-eclampsia, a condition signaled by high blood […]
(Missouri Independent) – Seventeen Republican members of Congress have sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking an end to the federal rule requiring passengers on commercial flights and in airports to wear masks. The mandate illegally restricts the lawmakers’ freedom and is not backed by legal authority, they said in the suit filed Monday. […]
A standing order was issued Tuesday by Missouri’s State Epidemiologist, Dr. George Turabelidze, which entitles individuals to receive coverage for purchased tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This policy authorizes Missouri pharmacies to charge an individual’s insurance carrier, whether it is private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare coverage, for COVID-19 testing. “Those without a healthcare […]
(Missouri Independent) – The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for federal assistance to develop high-speed internet connectivity in all parts of the country, members of a U.S. House subcommittee agreed this week as they reviewed provisions that are likely to be included in the next farm bill. “I represent a largely rural district in north-central, […]
From March 11 – 19, Governor Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland for their third international Trade Mission. The U.K. and Ireland are key trade partners for Missouri, with nearly $354 million and more than $130 million in exports in 2021, respectively. Consistent with Governor Parson’s […]
