The U.S. has its first fully approved vaccine against COVID-19, with federal health officials announcing Monday the approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine. The green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to move Pfizer’s vaccine from emergency use to full approval is a milestone in the national pandemic response, and one that comes as the […]
Tag: administration
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
Missouri tax attorney pleads guilty to tax and labor violations
A Missouri attorney has pleaded guilty in federal court to tax and labor violations. Meagan M. Howe, also known as Meagan M. Hasty, 35, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Thursday, Aug. 19, to one count of failure to pay employment tax and one count of making a […]
Missouri pharmacy filled forged prescriptions
A Missouri pharmacy is prohibited from continuing its past practice of filling prescriptions without verifying whether they were issued by a DEA-authorized practitioner under a consent decree approved yesterday in federal court. Spalitto’s Pharmacy, L.C., of Kansas City, a retail pharmacy at 3801 Independence Avenue operated by Peter A. Spalitto as the pharmacist in charge, […]
USDA accepting applications to help cover costs for organic certification
Organic producers and handlers can now apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture funds to assist with the cost of receiving or maintaining organic certification. Applications for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) are due Nov. 1, 2021. “USDA is here to help all producers, including those who grow our nation’s organic food and fiber. Many farmers have told […]
Governor Parson announces $400 million plan to improve broadband infrastructure in Missouri
During a press conference at the Missouri State Fair hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau, Governor Mike Parson announced plans to deploy more than $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to increase broadband internet access, adoption, and assistance statewide. “Investing in our broadband infrastructure is critical to unlocking our full economic potential […]
USDA invests more than $5 million in infrastructure to expand availability of renewable fuels in rural Missouri
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Missouri Acting State Director D Clark Thomas announced the agency is investing $5,178,191 to build infrastructure to expand the availability of higher-blend renewable biofuels by 235,810,915 million gallons annually in Missouri. “USDA Rural Development is committed to expanding the availability of higher-blend biofuels to all of rural Missouri,” Thomas […]
Biden mandates nursing homes require COVID vaccine or lose Medicare, Medicaid funds
(Missouri Independent) – Nursing homes will be required to ensure their staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing federal Medicare and Medicaid dollars, the Biden administration announced Wednesday in a major move on vaccinations as the Delta variant sweeps many states. Under the new nursing home policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
Missouri payrolls add 15,000 jobs in month after Parson stopped federal unemployment aid
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri payrolls added exactly 15,000 non-farm jobs in July as the unemployment rate ticked down 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted data from the federal Bureau of Labor Standards shows. The state’s labor force of 3.08 million, however, declined by 177, and overall employment, which includes self-employed people and farm labor, grew by 4,462 […]
Certain immunocompromised individuals can now receive third dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri
Following recent announcements from the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, certain immunocompromised individuals can begin receiving third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri. A third dose of the PfizerNBioTech or Moderna vaccines may be administered to moderately to severely immunocompromised people due to a medical condition […]
Afghan evacuees to arrive in the U.S. through Virginia and Wisconsin military bases
(Missouri Independent) – The first U.S. stop for the nearly 2,000 Afghan interpreters and other refugees evacuated so far amid the collapse of the Afghan government has been central Virginia’s Fort Lee military base. Tapped for its East Coast location and its ability to quickly ramp up to serve as a temporary host installation, the Army […]
Audio: Missouri’s governor signs deal with newly formed organization aimed at boosting the state’s sluggish vaccination rate.
Governor Mike Parson’s administration has signed a deal with a newly formed organization aimed at boosting Missouri’s stagnant COVID-19 vaccination rate. The $2.5 million contract with the Missouri Immunization Coalition is the latest attempt by the administration to jumpstart vaccinations in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The hiring of […]
Graves presses Biden for a plan on Afghanistan
Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) joined Republican colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee today in pressing the Biden administration for a plan on Afghanistan. In the letter, the members wrote, “For months, we have been asking you for a plan on your withdrawal from Afghanistan. You failed to provide us with one, and based on the […]
Sullivan County Health Department reports new cases of COVID-19, seven breakthrough cases
The Sullivan County Health Department August 17th reported two additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 1,086. Thirty-eight of the cases were active. Health Department Administrator Deborah Taylor reports about .6% of the total cases have been breakthrough cases. She says cases are milder for vaccinated residents than those who were not vaccinated. The health […]
Lawmakers request information on Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehensions under Biden Administration
In light of the massive surge of illegal border crossings reported last week, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), joined by Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting critical information on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s record of apprehensions during the Biden Administration. Interior […]
Senator Roy Blunt: “Afghanistan was an unforced error”
Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), who has served on the Intelligence Committee in both the House and Senate, released the following statement on Afghanistan: “The catastrophe that has unfolded in Afghanistan was an unforced error. We are now faced with a devastating collapse of our intelligence gathering capabilities while terrorists regain a foothold to launch attacks […]
Missouri Attorney General scores massive win in “Remain in Mexico” lawsuit
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office, along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office have prevailed in their lawsuit against the Biden Administration over President Biden’s cancellation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or “Remain in Mexico” policy. A federal court in northern Texas, where the case was filed, issued a nationwide permanent […]
Hy-Vee now offering free third COVID-19 vaccine doses for eligible patients
Hy-Vee, Inc. announces today that free, third Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses are now available at Hy-Vee’s more than 275 Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations across its eight-state region. The new doses, recently approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are only recommended for severely to moderately immunocompromised […]
Biden-Harris Administration announces $500 million in rural health care funds under the American Rescue Plan
The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture is making up to $500 million available in grants to help rural health care facilities, tribes, and communities expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, health care services, and nutrition assistance. President Biden’s comprehensive plan to recover the economy and deliver relief to the American people […]
Kansas City, Kansas man pleads guilty in Missouri to heroin trafficking
A man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than three kilograms of heroin intercepted by law enforcement officers when it was shipped from California to Kansas City, Missouri. Solomon B. Hawthorne, 31, of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to participating […]