(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, […]
Category: State News
Missouri Attorney General joins coalition of 27 states in urging Supreme Court to protect coach’s right to pray after football games
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a coalition of 27 states filing an amicus brief in Kennedy v. Bremerton, supporting a Washington state football coach’s right to engage in his private exercise of religion by praying after football games. Coach Joseph Kennedy was suspended by Bremerton School District after praying while in view of his […]
Missouri State Auditor begins audit of Texas County
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today announced that her office has begun a regularly scheduled audit of Texas County, located in south-central Missouri. The most recent audit of Texas County was completed in November 2017 and gave the county an overall performance rating of “poor,” the lowest possible. “My office will conduct an independent review of government operations […]
Missouri State Auditor gives Clay County Commission’s office rating of “Poor”; details how commissioners obstructed audit process
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued her office’s audit of the Clay County Commission, which was initiated by a citizen petition in 2018. The report follows repeated but ultimately unsuccessful efforts by former county commissioners to impede the completion of the audit. The report, which gave a rating of “poor” – the lowest possible […]
Missouri man sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his role in carjacking plot
United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Antwan Jones to eight years in federal prison for his role in a carjacking, weapons charges, and assaulting a federal officer. Jones had previously pleaded guilty in November 2021. According to the plea agreement, Jones and his co-defendant stopped their SUV next to the victim on […]
Former Missouri mail carrier facing 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing sports trading cards
A former mail carrier pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing nearly 100 sports trading cards worth thousands of dollars from the mail. Paul O. Robinson, 26, of Richmond, Missouri, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to a federal information that charges him with one […]
Missouri man sentenced to 12 years in prison, without parole, for meth trafficking
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for distributing more than a kilogram of methamphetamine. William Austin Lee Crabtree, 30, of Russellville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 12 years in federal prison without parole. On Aug. 24, 2021, Crabtree pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent […]
Audio: Missouri Senate set to debate separate wide-ranging gun bill
Legislation that would expand the number of places conceal-carry permit holders can carry guns is ready for debate in the State Senate. A State Senate committee passed the bill Tuesday, which would allow conceal-carry permit holders to carry guns onto the floor of the House or Senate, or to meetings of any local […]
Audio: Missouri senator says family court should not discriminate against medical marijuana
Should a Missouri family court be allowed to tell a person they cannot take their legally prescribed medicine..even if it’s medical marijuana? As Joey Parker tells us, at least one Missouri lawmaker says “NO.” State Senator Barbara Washington says Missouri’s family courts should not tell someone involved in the court that they must […]
Audio: Missouri House near passage of bill to enable more substitute teachers
The Missouri House of Representatives is near final approval on a bill to enable more people to become trained as substitute teachers. This bill provides a four-year certificate for individuals with a background check and 36 college hours or a 20-hour online training, Bill Sponsor Ed Lewis – Republican from Randolph recites how the current […]
Change to bill cutting Missouri sales tax on food transformed it into massive tax hike
(Missouri Independent) – With a change of just a few words, a bill to expand the sales tax exemption for food purchases became a bill virtually ending the exemption, infuriating its sponsor and forcing a Missouri House committee to give it another look. On Monday, the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee voted to send state Rep. […]
Bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs passes Missouri Senate committee
(Missouri Independent) – A bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs that aim to reduce the spread of infectious diseases was voted out of the Senate General Laws Committee Tuesday. Needle exchange programs allow drug users to swap out used syringes with clean, new ones in an effort to decrease the chances of contracting or […]
House grants initial approval to bill that would allow prison nurseries in Missouri
(Missouri Independent) -The House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that would allow newborns to remain with their incarcerated mothers for the first year and a half of the baby’s life. The bill would permit the Missouri Department of Corrections to establish nurseries within the state’s correctional facilities, allowing children born to incarcerated women to […]
Groups push back against attempt to repeal Medicaid expansion
Groups advocating for health-care access for all Missourians urged the state Senate to reject a proposed constitutional amendment to undermine Medicaid expansion passed by the House. House Joint Resolution 117 would empower the Legislature to block services to the hundreds of thousands of newly eligible residents who are signing up, by repealing expansion and making it […]
Missouri Attorney General joins nationwide investigation into TikTok
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults while use is associated with physical and mental health harms. Attorneys General nationwide are examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws that put the public at risk. Attorney General […]
Kansas National Guard soldier pleads guilty in Missouri court to sexual exploitation of a child
A man serving with the Army National Guard pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually exploiting an 11-year-old southwest Missouri victim to produce child pornography. Christian Sinclair, 21, of Chanute, Kansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child. By pleading guilty, Sinclair […]
Governor Parson grants 29 pardons, commutes 1 sentence
On Monday, February 28, 2022, Governor Mike Parson granted 29 pardons and approved one commutation pursuant to Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Missouri. Official documents have been filed with the appropriate government agencies and are being sent to the individuals. Pardons: Robert Midgyett Jeffrey Bragg Sharr Ford Lawrence Tindall Angela […]
January 2022 Missouri jobs report shows a drop in unemployment to 3.8%
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from December 2021 to January 2022, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 9,100 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in January 2022, […]
Video: Congressman Sam Graves responds to President Biden’s State of the Union Address
In response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address, Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) highlighted the many struggles real Americans are dealing with every day in President Biden’s America. “The difference between what we’re feeling in North Missouri and what the President says we’re feeling is stark,” Rep. Sam Graves said. “The supply chain crisis, […]