Area residents and the operator of a fireworks manufacturer are still shaken after the facility burned to the ground when stock inside ignited Tuesday night. Neighbor Ashlee Tennis told KOLR-TV she was at home getting ready for dinner when she heard the explosion at AM Pyrotechnics in southwest Missouri’s Polk County. Tennis said […]
Category: State News
State patrol reports 3 fatalities over July 4th holiday
The Highway Patrol has released the statistics from the July Fourth Holiday counting period. Statistics statewide included 114 crashes, 59 injuries, and three fatalities. The fatalities included two in the Kansas City area investigated by the Kansas City Police Department and one in Reynolds County investigated by the Patrol. Statewide troopers made 40 arrests for […]
Audio: Missourians impacted by the Great Flood of 1993 remember the experience 25 years later
(Missourinet) – For a six-month period 25 years ago, extremely high waters devastated areas in Missouri as well as eight other states. The late Mel Carnahan was the governor during the disaster known as the Great Flood of 1993. Missourinet affiliate KWIX spoke to Carnahan when he visited northwest Missouri’s Brunswick and urged for public […]
Audio: New state budget includes jump in public school safety funding
Governor Parson has signed into law a new state budget which includes 300,000-dollars in school safety funding to Missouri’s K through 12 public districts. Melissa Randol with the Missouri School Boards’ Association says addressing school safety involves a multi-faceted approach. The funding could be used to address threats involving weapons and digital platforms, […]
Audio: Governor signs tax credit bill to help soup kitchens, homeless shelters and food pantries
(Missourinet) – Governor Parson has signed into law this week a bill that renews and expands tax credits for donations to food banks, soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Jennifer Rhodus with a Farmington food pantry in eastern Missouri says the legislation will do so much for her organization and Missouri’s other food pantries. […]
Washing your hands may not be enough to avoid spread of illness
Here’s a tip for a safer July 4th picnic or barbecue, a new report says the act of simply washing your hands may not be enough to avoid the spread of bacteria and illness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture research found that 97 percent of people are failing at basic hand washing. For instance, most neglect to wash […]
Audio: Supreme Court ruling has far reaching impact on internet sales in Missouri
(Missourinet) – A U.S. Supreme Court decision issued last week means Internet sales in Missouri can be subject to state and local sales taxes. Federal estimates show that up to $13 billion was lost across the country in 2017 because those taxes weren’t imposed. Ray McCarty with Associated Industries of Missouri is skeptical the numbers […]
Audio: Missouri judge on Trump’s list to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kennedy
(Missourinet) – A federal judge from Missouri is on President Trump’s list to replace a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Judge Raymond Gruender of Missouri is the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court Appeals Court judge and he’s on President Trump’s list to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has announced his retirement. Kennedy’s announcement gives Trump […]
Special Olympics athletes embark on journey to National Games on Friday
Every four years, Special Olympics North America manages the national summer games in the United States that include athletes from all 52 US programs. The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, July 1-6, will bring not just 58 athletes, 20 coaches and 16 Unified Partners from Missouri, but more than 3,400 other delegates (athletes, coaches, and […]
Funding for Missouri children at stake in 2020 census
When it comes to child well being, Missouri’s children are doing better than many other states in the country. The state ranks 26th in The Annie E. Casey 2018 Kids Count Data Book with 10 percent fewer children living in poverty between 2010 and 2016 and while the state has made gains, the questions around the […]
McCaskill, Hawley spar over preexisting conditions in health care coverage
Missouri’s Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill continues to attack Republican state Attorney General Josh Hawley over healthcare. Hawley joined a 20-state coalition of attorneys general in February challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. McCaskill says the move means Hawley is threatening the healthcare of those with preexisting conditions. Hawley has said […]
Audio: Governor Parson wants state worker pay increases to continue, supports scrapping merit system
Governor Parson says he has no problem scrapping the merit system for state workers. Parson tells Missourinet affiliate KWOS in Jefferson City he also wants to do what he can to keep increasing state employee pay. The next state budget beginning in July includes annual pay increases of $700 beginning in January for […]
Audio: Missouri author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, has name stripped from award over racial characterizations
(Missourinet) – A legendary author from southwest Missouri had her name stripped from a major children’s book award Saturday. Laura Ingalls Wilder, who lived in Mansfield for more than sixty years, is the author of the famous Little House on the Prairie novels. The Mansfield Library Center’s Nancee Dahms-Stinson says Wilder’s books still fly off […]
Audio: Governor Parson signs five bills, but 61 still await his attention
(Missourinet) – Governor Mike Parson has signed five bills into law since replacing Eric Greitens as head of state, but 61 other measures await his attention. Among the bills signed by Parson Friday was one dealing extensively with the Department of Natural Resources. It gives the agency the authority to establish rules and […]
Audio: Judge rules that Mizzou grad students can unionize
(Missourinet) – A Boone County judge has ruled that Mizzou grad students are university employees and therefore can unionize. During the most recent Board of Curators meeting, a graduate student says the university should let the issue go. During a recent Board of Curators meeting, UM System President Mun Choi says he does not […]
Audio: Sweeping new utility law criticized by watchdog groups
(Missourinet) – A sweeping new law allows Missouri utility companies to use an accounting practice that lets them recover depreciation on investments up front. Ameren, the state’s largest power company, says it stimulates investment in long-needed infrastructure upgrades. Cara Spencer with Consumers Council considers the accounting practice a ploy on the part of utilities to […]
Missouri Public Service Commission to hold hearing in rate adjustment for Union Electric
The Missouri Public Service Commission has established the hearing schedule in a case to adjust the electric rates of Union Electric Company doing business as Ameren Missouri. The Commission opened the case June 6th under a provision of Senate Bill 564, which passed by the Missouri General Assembly signed into law. A section of the […]
Missouri Department of Conservation accepting applications for next class of conservation agents
The Missouri Department of Conservation is accepting online applications from June 25 through Aug. 5 for its next class of conservation agent trainees. To apply — and for more information including salary range, duties and responsibilities, degree requirements, qualifications, and special-ability requirements — visit the MDC website directly at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZcS. Applicants can also go to […]
Audio: Missouri Governor Parson Appoints Kehoe as Lieutenant Governor
(Missourinet) – Missouri’s governor has appointed Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe of Jefferson City as Lieutenant Governor. Governor Mike Parson made Monday’s announcement at the Statehouse, saying the lieutenant governor position reassures Missourians that all operations of state government will continue. Parson also praises Kehoe’s background: While the Missouri Constitution doesn’t specifically address how the […]