United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is investing $222 million to build and improve critical community facilities (PDF, 729 KB) in 44 states, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. This community infrastructure funding will benefit nearly 2.5 million people in rural communities. It also […]
A Missouri woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a wire fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $362,000 from her Springfield, Mo., employer. Carrie Leigh Long, 52, Ash Grove, was charged in a 24-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday, Nov. 17. […]
Information was shared November 18th on North Central Missouri College’s projects involving facilities. Information on the Savannah Campus and a future student center was provided during the NCMC Board of Trustees meeting. President Doctor Lenny Klaver reported 98% of the planning is complete on the Savannah project. He met with Architect Jeremy Proctor November 17th. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Smithfield Foods agreed this week to pay the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration $13,494 to settle a citation for failing to protect its meatpacking employees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from exposure to the coronavirus last year, but the company didn’t admit it did anything wrong. As such, the settlement can’t […]
Congressman Sam Graves, (MO-06), Ranking Member for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced that the Grand River Bridge Resiliency Project has received a RAISE Transportation Discretionary Grant. The RAISE Grant program was previously called the BUILD Grant program before being renamed earlier this year. This funding was approved by Congress last year and signed […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase from Bolivar, Mo., to Springfield, Mo. Milton W. Sparks, 38, of Aurora, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On April 15, 2021, Sparks […]
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly a month after a reporter identified a security flaw in a state website that exposed teachers’ social security numbers, the state announced Wednesday it was offering a year of credit monitoring services to hundreds of thousands of teachers whose personal information was put at risk According to the Department of Elementary […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson led a coalition of 10 states in challenging the vaccine mandate propagated by the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on healthcare workers across the nation, becoming the first states to file a lawsuit challenging this mandate. Attorney General Eric Schmitt […]
Two Mexican nationals have been convicted by a federal trial jury for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms (220 lbs) of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in northwest Missouri. Juan Guzman, also known as “Flaco,” 40, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Maria De La Cruz Nava, […]
(Missouri Independent) – The first seaport to improve its facilities following passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill could be in Savannah, Ga., a senior Biden administration official said Tuesday. President Joe Biden has yet to sign the measure, which Congress sent to Biden’s desk late last week, funding improvements in highways, transit, ports, waterways, airports, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Reducing the number of livestock will not be a priority for the Biden administration as it seeks to drastically cut methane emissions to stem climate change, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Instead, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “climate-smart” initiatives will focus on new types of animal feed and manure […]
Governor Mike Parson celebrated Missouri’s strong economic position as the number of Missourians on unemployment decreases, businesses continue to invest and expand in Missouri, and the state earns several economic recognitions. “Throughout the pandemic, we took a balanced approach that protected the health and safety of Missourians without sacrificing their livelihoods,” Governor Parson said. “We didn’t […]
(Missouri Independent) – It’s clear that lead exposure is a problem for Missouri’s children. An estimated 4.5% have elevated levels of lead in their blood, more than almost any other state in the country. What’s far more difficult is figuring out where children are getting exposed to lead, said Carlton Waterhouse, President Joe Biden’s pick for […]
U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is awarding $3 million in cooperative agreements to 13 organizations. These organizations will provide technical assistance to people living in rural and Tribal communities so they can apply for and access government resources for projects that will attract jobs and […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office filed a motion for preliminary injunction in their lawsuit against the Biden Administration for refusing to continue construction on the Southwest border wall. Missouri and Texas filed suit in late October to require the Biden Administration to continue construction on the border wall using […]
Families in Missouri have been receiving Child Tax Credit payments of $300 to $350 a month per child since the summer, and one local expert says making them permanent could benefit families long-term, across the nation. So far, 45% of Missouri families have reported using their payments for food, 33% for essential bills, and 30% […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt co-led an eleven-state coalition with Montana, Arizona, and Nebraska in filing a lawsuit against Joe Biden and the Biden Administration to halt their vaccine mandate on private employers with more than 100 employees. Missouri and the coalition of states are the first states to file suit against the vaccine mandate […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that he will sue to halt the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate on private employers first thing on Friday morning when OSHA’s ETS is officially published in the federal register. “The federal government does not have the authority to unilaterally force private employers to mandate their employees get vaccinated or […]
(Missouri Independent) – Twice last year a federal grand jury demanded the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services turn over records pertaining to the medical marijuana program. The pair of subpoenas, issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in September 2020, were redacted by the department at the […]
Hy-Vee, Inc. announces that select Hy-Vee pharmacy locations are now administering free Pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5-11 without a prescription, per the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for this age group. Due to limited supply, these vaccines are available […]
