The use of telehealth services – a combination of telephone, video, and other online tools – peaked during COVID closures, and Coloradans still are opting for remote visits, according to new data. Social isolation and other disruptions saw mental and behavioral telehealth visits rise dramatically. Cari Frank – vice president for communications with the Center […]
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Hawley demands answers on airlines’ use of pandemic funds, widespread layoffs from Biden vaccine mandate
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, Brian D. Miller, and acting Inspector General Richard K. Delmar urging an investigation into the widespread layoffs of airline workers who declined to submit themselves to President Biden’s vaccine mandate and the potential misuse of CARES Act funds by airlines. “The […]
How a Mississippi court case could pave the way for new abortion bans across the U.S.
(Missouri Independent) – A six-week abortion ban in Texas enacted in September forced those seeking abortion services in the Lone Star State to look across state lines for care. But the timing couldn’t have been worse for Texans living near the state’s eastern border. The law took effect as neighboring Louisiana was reeling from the […]
COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield plant in Milan, Missouri likely larger than originally known
(Missouri Independent) – The COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield Foods’ northern Missouri plant — the focus of a worker safety lawsuit that garnered national attention last year — resulted in two worker deaths and was worse than previously thought, according to newly obtained federal documents. Early on in the pandemic, the Sullivan County Health Department told local […]
Lawmaker urges Missouri governor to finally appoint cybersecurity commission
(Missouri Independent) – A day after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson garnered national criticism for his push to prosecute a newspaper reporter who discovered a security flaw in a state website, a Democratic lawmaker is urging the governor to appoint members of a cybersecurity commission created by a bill he signed in July. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch informed […]
Missouri governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website
(Missouri Independent) – On Tuesday, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alerted the state that Social Security numbers of school teachers and administrators were vulnerable to public exposure due to flaws on a website maintained by Missouri’s department of education. The newspaper agreed to hold off publishing any story while the department fixed the problem and […]
Missouri Attorney General files response brief; Oral argument set for November 2 in “Remain in Mexico” case
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a response brief to the Department of Justice’s appeal in the Migrant Protection Protocols or “Remain in Mexico” case brought by Missouri and Texas. The brief was filed in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the oral argument, in this case, is scheduled for November 2, 2021. “While […]
Missouri Attorney General obtains two consent judgments in Sunshine lawsuits
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today announced that his Office has obtained two consent judgments in Sunshine Law lawsuits launched earlier this year. The lawsuit against the Ray County Commission and the lawsuit against the City of Fairview were filed in April of 2021. “Enforcing and protecting the Sunshine Law is an important duty of […]
Trenton Board of Education approves after school tutoring pay rate, hear presentation on Summer School program
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education approved an adjustment to after-school tutoring pay on October 12, 2021. The pay rate was changed from $25 to $30 to match the quarantine tutoring program. Trenton Middle School Principal Daniel Gott said teachers select students to be tutored in the after-school program. Superintendent Mike Stegman reported there were […]
Judge blocks residency rule for Missouri medical marijuana licenses
(Missouri Independent) – A federal judge last week permanently blocked Missouri from enforcing a requirement that medical marijuana licenses go to businesses owned by residents of the state. Following a bench trial Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey agreed to grant a permanent injunction. Her written order has not yet been filed. News of the injunction […]
Audio: Blunt pushes against medical licensing barriers to telehealth
Senator Roy Blunt continues to push for health care and mental health care access VIA telemedicine. But the problem is licensing across states. On the commerce committee Friday, Blunt said students are a good example of needed online access to their hometown doctors. “Our two biggest population centers are right on the edge […]
Trump rails against Democrats, repeats election fraud conspiracies during Iowa rally
(Missouri Independent) – Former President Donald Trump ruminated on election fraud and Democratic wrongdoing during a rally on Saturday while teasing a potential 2024 run. Trump gave a warm greeting to Iowans and touted his win in Iowa in 2020 and his latest Des Moines Register/Iowa Poll numbers. “As disastrous as the Biden administration has been, no […]
Missouri hunting guide allegedly solicits more than $50,000 from investors in five states
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s securities division issued a cease and desist order against a Republic, Missouri hunting guide. Theodore Jay Eddings is required to show cause why civil penalties, restitution, costs, and other administrative relief should not be imposed against him after several investors were allegedly defrauded. Between April 2017 and October 2018, […]
Missouri investors to receive $1.5 million in restitution
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division issued an order against Scottsdale, Arizona resident John D. Myers, and entities Skytec Security Services, LLC, and Skytec Service KC, LLC, finding they defrauded investors from the Kansas City, Missouri area. Missouri Commissioner of Securities David Minnick found that respondents, individually and collectively, orchestrated and organized a scheme […]
FBI to investigate threats made against school board members, teachers
(Missouri Independent) – The Department of Justice has directed the FBI to meet with local governments and law enforcement to discuss strategies for dealing with increasing threats to teachers and school board members spurred by a conservative backlash against discussions of race in public schools. “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to […]
Lawmakers seethe at Missouri agency over failure to report missing foster kids
(Missouri Independent) – Exasperated lawmakers slammed leaders of the Missouri Department of Social Services on Tuesday, accusing them of passing off blame for a federal review that found the state fails to adequately report missing foster children. Tuesday’s hearing of the House Children and Families Committee was spurred by a report issued last week by the U.S […]
Missouri Attorney General slams Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney General for attempting to intimidate parents
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today sent a letter to the Department of Justice and Attorney General Garland slamming their decision to publish a memo that directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice to work with federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially prosecute parents who show up to school board meetings to […]
Trenton Planning and Zoning Commission approve requests of two Trenton residents
The Trenton Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request for a conditional use permit on October 4, 2021. The Board of Adjustment approved requests regarding variances. The request approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission was from Terry Hearn for a conditional use permit to allow him to operate a used car lot at 907 […]
Native of Laclede comes home decades after his death at Pearl Harbor
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 9, 2021, in the Laclede Cemetery to recognize and honor U.S. Navy Sailor George Merton Gooch from Laclede. He was killed in action when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Gooch will be laid to rest in a 1 o’clock memorial service. Full […]
Democrats’ vision for free community college would boost undocumented students
(Missouri Independent) – The massive economic policy package Democrats are trying to muscle through Congress could open the door to free community college for undocumented immigrants. But that lifeline for many people now denied access to higher education could also reignite controversies in Republican-leaning states over immigration and federal overreach. The provision on immigrants was […]