A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase through several neighborhoods, past two schools, and into a park. Michael A. Baldwin, 62, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 21 […]
A former Missouri state representative was sentenced in federal court for a nearly $900,000 COVID-19 fraud scheme, as well as a separate $200,000 fraud scheme in which she made false claims about a fake stem cell treatment marketed through her clinics in southern Missouri, and for illegally providing prescription drugs to clients of those clinics. […]
An Ava, Mo., man previously indicted for producing child pornography after photos of the child victim’s sexual assault were discovered at his former residence now faces additional charges that include victimizing a second child. Harold Lloyd Blair, Jr., 66, was charged in a three-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield. This indictment […]
To guide the state’s internet expansion and training efforts, the Missouri Office of Broadband Development and the University of Missouri Extension are conducting a brief online survey on household internet access and use. The anonymous survey, which takes about six minutes to complete, is at this link. Broadband can boost a community’s economic growth and […]
March 1st marks the annual opening of catch-and-keep trout fishing in Missouri at the state’s four trout parks: Bennett Spring State Park near Lebanon, Montauk State Park near Licking, Roaring River State Park near Cassville, and Maramec Spring Park near St. James. The catch-and-keep season at the trout parks runs through Oct. 31. The Missouri […]
(Missourinet) – The Missouri ACLU and the Missouri Library Association are suing the state over a law that’s caused libraries to remove hundreds of books. The suit is challenging the law signed last year that caused school districts to order the removal of hundreds of titles from library shelves, in fear that they […]
(Missouri Independent) – A pair of veteran prosecuting attorneys panned legislation targeting the authority of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Monday, with one calling the bill “unnecessary and counterproductive.” Instead, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, lawmakers should let the courts deal with the question of Gardner’s competence now that a lawsuit intended to […]
Missouri State Auditor, Scott Fitzpatrick, released a follow-up letter to local officials at the City of Cross Timbers urging them to implement better financial oversight practices to ensure accurate accounting of utility deposits and management of accounts. A follow-up report released last December revealed that more than half of the 31 recommendations outlined in the […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for ramming into two law enforcement vehicles while attempting to flee while in possession of methamphetamine and firearms. Anthony M. Quinones, also known as “Droopy,” 50, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 19 years in federal prison without parole. The […]
Missouri Department of Transportation crews are already focusing on pothole repairs to keep roads as safe as possible and will continue through the spring as weather allows. When you see a MoDOT crew making repairs, motorists should slow down and move over a lane to give them room to work safely – remember, it’s the […]
Governor Mike Parson signed House Bill 14 into law. Also referred to as the Fiscal Year 2023 Early Supplemental Bill, HB 14 secures an 8.7 percent cost-of-living pay increase for all state team members and a $2 per hour shift differential for state congregate care staff. “HB 14 is a critically necessary step in working […]
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly five years after voters amended the state Constitution to require the legislature to abide by transparency laws, the Missouri Senate is advancing a bill allowing lawmakers to withhold a wide swath of records from the public. Any record of a state lawmaker or their staff pertaining to “legislation or the legislative […]
In July 2022, severe storms and record rainfall across the St. Louis region devastated families, homes, and businesses, many in areas that had never experienced such flooding before. This historic disaster serves as yet another reminder that severe weather can strike at any time, anywhere. “Flooding – particularly flash flooding – is the deadliest severe […]
(Missouri Independent) – Action in the Missouri Senate briefly ground to a halt last week, after a Republican lawmaker used procedural maneuvers to gum up the legislative process in retaliation for one of his bills dying in committee. Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, staged a filibuster for most of Thursday morning after a Senate committee voted […]
Particulate matter in the air, commonly called “soot,” exacerbates and can even cause heart and lung conditions, with asthma sufferers being especially vulnerable. Soot levels contribute to numerous doctor and emergency room visits throughout the year. After 10 years at the current level, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed lowering the acceptable levels of particulate matter from 12 […]
The Coordinating Board for Higher Education voted unanimously to select Dr. Bennett Boggs as Missouri’s new Commissioner of Higher Education on February 22, 2023. Dr. Boggs has accepted the position. Dr. Boggs replaces Zora Mulligan, who resigned on July 1, 2022. Deputy Commissioner Leroy Wade has served as interim commissioner since her resignation. “We welcome […]
A Missouri-based nonprofit behavioral health provider has admitted making criminal false statements in claims for services not provided to foster youth and agreed to a series of compliance measures, federal and state officials announced Friday. In a separate civil settlement, Great Circle of Webster Groves, Missouri agreed to pay $1,866,000, consisting of $933,000 in restitution […]
A Missouri man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to commit nine armed robberies of local businesses in the summer of 2018, as well as an armed robbery in which a convenience store employee was beaten and then fatally shot. Joe Lee Nichols, 30, of Kansas City, was sentenced […]
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a suit (quo warranto) to remove St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner from office. “As Attorney General, I want to protect the people of St. Louis, and that includes ensuring prosecutors protect the public,” said Attorney General Andrew Bailey. “We gave Circuit Attorney Gardner the chance to do […]
A man and a woman have been indicted and accused of two armed carjackings in St. Louis, Missouri last May. Jermanine Smith, 48, of St. Louis, and Bianka North, 27, of Illinois, were each indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on two counts of carjacking and two counts of possession of a firearm in […]
