A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court for fraudulently claiming reimbursements for travel expenses for her work for the U.S. Postal Service. Monique S. Koger-Little, 48, of Lee’s Summit, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to one year and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Koger-Little […]
Country music superstar Justin Moore will headline the final concert of the 2022 Missouri State Fair, performing on the State Fair Grandstand stage, presented by CFM Insurance on Saturday, Aug. 20. Opening for Moore is newcomer Heath Sanders. Multi-platinum hitmaker and Arkansas native Justin Moore has built a loyal following over the past decade with […]
The prosecuting attorney for eastern Missouri’s Washington County is moving to toss out the murder conviction of a 38-year-old man convicted of killing his mother. Michael Politte was 14 years old in 1998 when his mother’s burned body was found in their mobile home. Police quickly focused on Politte as the suspect, and […]
A Missouri man has pleaded guilty in federal court to murdering his estranged wife during an argument when they met in a national park. Dylan J. Hanger, 30, of Mountain View, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on May 10, 2022, to one count of murder in the second degree. Hanger admitted […]
(Missouri Independent) – Lawyers for Tyson Foods, one of America’s largest meatpacking companies, drafted an early version of a 2020 executive order that allowed plants to continue operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Congressional report based on company emails shows. It’s been reported that the meatpacking industry wrote a draft version of President Donald Trump’s […]
An Independence, Missouri man is now charged for his actions in the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021. Joey Parker tells us about a tip that led to the man’s arrest. Devin Rossman is charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building and three other charges relating to disorderly conduct on the […]
(Missouri Independent) – The 2022 legislative session ended last week the same way it began back in January: With the Missouri Senate bogged down and barely able to function thanks to bitter divisions within the Republican majority. Over the course of five months, there were filibusters, procedural hijinks, and ugly back-and-forths between members of the Senate’s conservative […]
(Missouri Independent) – A panel of state appeals court judges heard arguments last week over whether former Gov. Eric Greitens and his staff used self-destructing text-message apps in 2017 to illegally circumvent Missouri’s transparency laws. While Greitens was still serving as governor, it was revealed he and his staff were using a text-messaging app called Confide. […]
Governor Mike Parson announced the launch of a public website to help guide access to Missouri’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The website, moarpa.mo.gov, enables visitors to learn about how ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds are being spent in Missouri. The website will also provide information on how Missouri organizations, non-profits, municipalities, businesses, communities, […]
Missouri lawmakers ended the session with changes to eminent domain laws. House Bill 2005 sponsor Mike Haffner led the effort – triggered when a private electric transmission line project was permitted to cross the state. The bill now limits eminent domain use by private companies to acquire land, but Missouri Cattlemen’s Executive Vice […]
(Missouri Independent) – Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, Missouri lawmakers sent to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk legislation that aims to ensure residents can access their family members in the face of visitor restrictions at hospitals. A House bill unanimously passed on the final day of the legislative session with 129 votes in support, and shortly after […]
(Missouri Independent) – Infants born to women in prison may soon get to remain with their mothers for their first 18 months, under a bill on its way to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. The bill would direct the Missouri Department of Corrections to establish a nursery within a women’s correctional facility by July 2025. It […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office joined a lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration’s decision to allow California to set burdensome and oppressive emissions standards in the manufacturing of motor vehicles as an exemption under the Clean Air Act. “Over 40 percent of the nation’s motor vehicles are manufactured in California and the […]
(Missouri Independent) – In chess, a defensive move that swaps positions of the rook and the king is called castling. The move that ends the game, of course, is the checkmate. Early Thursday morning, the Missouri Senate leadership castled the congressional redistricting bill by recessing, instead of adjourning, the Wednesday session. That meant that when […]
(Missouri Independent) – Legislation weakening Missouri’s hazardous waste regulations and opening the door for “advanced recycling” will soon be on Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. With just hours left before Friday’s mandated end to the Missouri legislative session, the House took up and passed a bill stuck in conference committee negotiations that was vehemently opposed by environmentalists and pushed by […]
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft applauded the Missouri legislature for the passage of House Bill 1878 which expands voter ID and further safeguards elections in the state. Improving election integrity was a major priority for Ashcroft’s office during the legislative session. “I would like to thank the legislature for their work this session to prioritize […]
Country music star Sam Hunt will take the State Fair Grandstand stage, presented by CFM Insurance, on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Missouri State Fair. Opening for Hunt is Sean Stemaly. Multi-platinum selling, award-winning hitmaker Sam Hunt has accumulated over 11 billion global streams. His debut album Montevallo produced four No. 1 singles including […]
A wide-ranging K-12 public education package is headed to Missouri’s governor for action. The state Legislature has passed the bill that includes several reading interventions, methods to get lead out of school drinking water, and Holocaust Education initiatives, among several other items. During final work on the plan, state Representative Paula Brown, a Democrat and […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri voters will be required to present a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot under a wide-ranging elections bill headed to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. The bill includes several other provisions — such as prohibiting touchscreen voting machines and requiring a number of cybersecurity checks — that came out of hearings last summer, […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Senate passed a congressional redistricting map Thursday and then adjourned for the year. The 22-11 vote came after Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden invoked a rarely-used rule to bring a bill from the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting to the floor. The adjournment came a day before the constitutionally mandated […]
