Governor Mike Parson announced the launch of a statewide COVID-19 vaccination incentive program, MO VIP, to encourage vaccination among all Missourians age 12 and up. Over the next three months, 900 Missourians who have or will choose to be vaccinated will win cash or education savings account prizes in the amount of $10,000. “We understand […]
(Missouri Independent) – The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat […]
(Missouri Independent) – Help may be coming for Missouri homeowners behind on their mortgage payments because of COVID-19 income losses. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday added $150 million in federal mortgage assistance funds to the supplemental spending bill for the current fiscal year, one of several new sections using money from pandemic relief bills passed by Congress […]
(Missouri Independent) – On the heels of a historic cold snap that left thousands across the Midwest without power, Kansas and Missouri residents could soon reap the benefits of a massive high-powered transmission line delivering renewable energy. Grain Belt Express, a project a decade in the making, is starting to acquire land along its route spanning […]
(Missouri Independent) – The biggest item in a $1 billion supplemental spending bill would set aside money for a new method of making Medicaid payments, but exactly how it would work or how much it would cost is unknown. The House Budget Committee on Tuesday held a public hearing on the bill that would also […]
Governor Mike Parson announced $46 million in child care funding to ensure child care providers can support the needs of working Missouri families, especially those with low incomes during COVID-19. “In order for Missouri to be a strong and healthy state, we must deliver essential services and support the needs of our working families, especially […]
The GRM Networks Board of Directors has authorized the return of approximately $3.5 million in patronage capital credits to its member-owners. This includes $2.8 million paid to members with service in 1997 and 1998 and $700,000 paid to members with service in 2019. This year, GRM Networks has also returned more than $2 million to […]
Missouri’s municipal electric utilities are encouraged by the outcome of the 2020 General Assembly Among the favorable outcomes was the reconsideration and defeat of parts of SB 782 by the Missouri Senate. Senators found a ‘hidden’ House amendment in the bill that was an attempt to kill the Grain Belt Express transmission line project (GBX). […]
State leaders will soon have a better grasp of the magnitude of Missouri’s backlog of untested sexual assault kits. With funding from a $2.8 million federal grant, the Missouri attorney general’s SAFE Kit Initiative is expected to complete its inventory of untested rape kits in the next couple of weeks. Matthew Huffman, public affairs director […]
The USDA has lowered its 2019 corn and soybean production estimates. As of September 1st, corn is projected at 13.799 billion bushels, down 1% from August, a smaller cut than what some analysts were expecting, and 4% lower than the 2018 total of 14.420 billion bushels. The average yield is expected to be just over […]
The Missouri House advanced House Bill 1062 to the Missouri Senate. This bill will effectively kill new infrastructure projects like the Grain Belt Express transmission line. Members of the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) have repeatedly let lawmakers know that 39 local consumer-owned utilities, representing more than 350,000 people in the state, stand to lose […]
