The Missouri labor market’s recovery resumed in September 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 13,000 jobs over the month, and over-the-year job losses from COVID-19 shutdowns dropped below 125,000. Missouri’s smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went down by 2.1 percentage points in September 2020, decreasing to 4.9 percent from an August 2020 rate of 7.0 […]
The Fall 2020 Regional Community Forum will be held on November 18, 2020, for all 18 counties of northwest Missouri. Community members and leaders are encouraged to attend and participate in this celebration, networking, and informational virtual event from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A featured recognition presentation and progress update is scheduled within the […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released an audit of Jackson County government that found a lack of transparency in how the county spent millions of taxpayer dollars on legal, lobbying, and other professional services. The audit identified $2.7 million in contracts that were not competitively bid and another $1.3 million in contracts that went years […]
A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against the Missouri State Board of Governors. That’s after a TV tower collapse near Fordland in April 2018. 56-year-old Steve Lemay from Washington State died when the KOZK Ozarks Public Television tower fell during equipment upgrades. Family members say Missouri State didn’t give Lemay the right equipment […]
A Missouri, man has been charged in federal court with drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms after law enforcement officers found firearms and large quantities of illegal drugs in his vehicle at the Argosy Casino. Dominick A. Campos, 40, of Kansas City, was charged in a two-count complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in […]
Michael Malone, 44, of St. Louis, MO, pled guilty to three counts of wire fraud connected to a scheme to defraud and obtain education funds from the State of Missouri relative to the operation of the St. Louis College Prep Charter School from 2011 through 2018. Malone appeared before U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig, who […]
The Missouri labor market continued to recover in July 2020, following major job losses due to COVID-19 shutdowns earlier in the year. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 52,200 jobs over the month. Over-the year job losses, though still substantial, have diminished as the economy has gradually reopened. Missouri’s smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to […]
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education approved the proposed tax rate and a COVID-19 school reentry plan the evening of Monday, August 10th. The total tax rate for the 2020-2021 school year is $5.1649 per $100 of assessed value. That includes the incidental rate of $4.0317, debt service rate of 95.32 cents, and capital projects […]
Time to empty out the piggy banks to help small businesses. Missouri banks are asking consumers to deposit their spare change at their local banks or use change when shopping as the pandemic-related shutdowns have created a slowdown in coin circulation. When COVID-19 restrictions went into place, establishments like retail shops, bank branches, and laundromats […]
The Grundy County Commission approved the morning of Tuesday, July 14th placing a question on the April 2021 election ballot regarding a Missouri statute (263.247), which would allow the commission to enforce brush control adjacent to county roads. The statute involves brush removal along county right-of-way or maintenance easement, subject to voter approval of all […]
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded a $50,000 Small Community Engineering Assistance Program grant to the city of Princeton in Mercer County to evaluate the city’s wastewater system. The grant offers funding to qualifying small communities to help cover engineering costs for evaluating water and wastewater system improvements. The city will use the […]
The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed Tuesday, June 16th a Clean Water Commission decision approving a concentrated animal feeding operation in Grundy County. Hickory Neighbors United, Incorporated appealed a water commission decision affirming the Department of Natural Resources’ permit issuance to Trenton Farms RE, LLC. Court documents say Hickory Farms asserted that a House bill […]
Missouri will fully reopen for business on Tuesday morning, June 16, 2020, and will enter phase two of its “Show Me Strong Recovery Plan.” Governor Mike Parson tells Capitol reporters in Jefferson City that the move comes just over 90 days since Missouri’s first COVID-19 case. “It is truly incredible to think how far Missouri has […]
A North Kansas City, Missouri, woman was sentenced in federal court for embezzling from her employer in what was her fourth scheme to steal from a local company. Tonya A. Topel, 42, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to two years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also […]
A dozen Springfield, Missouri-area residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in Greene County. James D. Collins, also known as “Red,” 46, of Battlefield, Missouri; Darryl Turner, also known as “D,” 56, Bobby G. Rost also known as “Pop,” 62, Elmer E. Freeman Jr., […]
Pending expiration of Phase 1 on June 15, Governor Mike Parson announced today that Missouri will fully reopen and enter Phase 2 of its “Show Me Strong Recovery” Plan on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. “It is truly incredible to think about how far Missouri has come since March. At that time, no one knew what […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office has filed suit and obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Little Bit Ranch, a dog breeder in Sullivan County, for violations of the Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA) and for operating without a license. The lawsuit and application for a temporary restraining order without notice […]
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that turkey hunters checked 38,730 birds during Missouri’s 2020 regular spring turkey season, April 20 through May 10. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 899 birds harvested, Callaway with 699, and Laclede with 651. Young turkey hunters also harvested 2,724 birds during the 2020 spring […]
Late April is a peak season for morel mushrooms in western Missouri, to the delight of people who like to cook them and find them in the freshly greening outdoors. Where they appear, though, is a challenge for those new to seeking the sponge-like fungi, or for those veterans who cannot find them. Morels appear […]
Hedrick Medical Center and Wright Memorial Hospital COVID-19 testing numbers were announced via marketing and public relations director Jordan Ferguson of Trenton. According to Ferguson, the testing results collectively include those administered at the hospitals in Chillicothe and Trenton as well as the drive-through testing clinic on Highway 65 in Chillicothe. The drive through testing […]
