The Missouri House voted Tuesday to give preliminary approval to a proposed $1.27 billion supplemental budget, a supplemental that is the reason for the special session. The supplemental budget includes funding for school nutrition programs, job training grants, $1 million for witness protection funding, and money for child support payments. Governor Mike Parson (R) called […]
USDA has now given out more than half of the second Coronavirus Food Assistance Program’s funds to farmers. As of October 25th, the agency had approved more than $7.6 billion. Payments to corn growers remain at the top of the list at nearly $2.2 billion followed by cattle with almost $1.7 billion, soybeans at more than […]
(Missouri Independent) – When Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, they were told by the ballot language that the price tag was unknown, with possible costs at $200 million stated alongside $1 billion in potential savings. What is known for certain is that about 250,000 Missourians will become eligible for coverage next year — […]
(Missouri Independent) – Two minutes into our interview, I counted five yawns as the young teacher from southwest Missouri caught herself, and apologetically assured me that my questions weren’t dull. “I just feel like I am working all the time,” she added. “I don’t know how I am going to keep doing this for the […]
Governor Mike Parson has called another special session – this time to focus on getting extra federal coronavirus funding made available to the state. The federal aid includes funding for school meals, grants for homelessness prevention and job training, child support payments, among others. “COVID-19 has had an overwhelming impact on our state, and while […]
Agricultural producers can now make elections and enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2021 crop year. The signup period opened Tuesday, Oct. 13. These key U.S. Department of Agriculture safety-net programs help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops, and more than $5 billion […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing $1.68 billion in payments to agricultural producers and landowners for the 21.9 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides annual rental payment for land devoted to conservation purposes. “CRP is one of the many ‘tools’ that USDA offers to producers and private landowners to […]
Attorney General Schmitt announced an update to a global settlement framework agreement between state attorneys general, local subdivisions, and the opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt (MNK), its subsidiaries, and certain other affiliates. Under the new settlement, MNK will pay $1.6 billion into a trust as described below. MNK is currently the largest generic opioid manufacturer in the […]
Today is a historic day for the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) and the state. St. Louis businessman Fred Kummer and his wife June have donated $300 million to a foundation supporting the university he graduated from in 1955 as a civil engineer. According to a press release from the school, the […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications for the Dairy Margin Coverage program on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, for 2021 enrollment. “This year has been a market roller coaster for the dairy industry, and the Dairy Margin Coverage program is a valuable tool dairy producers can use to manage risk,” said Bill Northey, USDA’s Under […]
USDA has issued its first report on payouts under the second Coronavirus Food Assistance Program which is also known as CFAP 2. As of October 6th, the agency had distributed nearly two billion dollars of the 14 billion available for CFAP 2. Payments to corn growers topped the list at more than 687 million dollars […]
Pork export sales hit a marketing-year high last week. The USDA says the total for the week ending October 1st of 60,200 tons were up more than 50% from the four-week average, with China buying 29,000 tons, a possible sign of significant demand improvement as Germany remains out of the export market because of an […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released her fourth report detailing state government’s use of federal stimulus dollars intended for the COVID-19 response. In March, Auditor Galloway announced that her office would examine the state’s distribution and spending of funding received under the CARES Act and other federal assistance programs recently passed by Congress. The most […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released her third report detailing state government’s use of federal stimulus dollars intended for the COVID-19 response. In March, Auditor Galloway announced that her office would examine the state’s distribution and spending of funding received under the CARES Act and other federal assistance programs recently passed by Congress. The most […]
The United States Department of Agriculture has announced it is making up to an additional $14 billion in aid available nationwide to assist agricultural producers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funding provided through the CARES Act. The application period will be open from September […]
The Missouri Board of Education has voted today in favor of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) $8.5 billion proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning next July. The plan is a slim increase over the current budget year – about $26.8 million. “FY22 almost certainly will be a challenging revenue year, […]
Statistics from the state Department of Social Services show the number of Missourians on food stamps has increased by about 120,000 since January. There were about 658,000 Missourians receiving food stamps, at the start of the year. That number increased to about 778,000 as of July, which is the latest number available from DSS’ statistics. […]
The state of Missouri is working with Washington University in St. Louis to offer its new COVID-19 saliva test statewide soon. Officials reportedly hope to launch the tests later this month or in October. During a press conference in St. Louis, Missouri Economic Development Department Director Rob Dixon says the state is working alongside the […]
A congressman who represents northern Missouri describes the Port of St. Joseph as a major economic engine, saying farmers up and down the Missouri River depend on it to get grain to market. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, met separately last week with both Missouri Farm Bureau and the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River […]
Missouri has paid a consulting firm more than $829,000 so far in federal coronavirus aid to help coordinate the state’s pandemic response. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports payroll records show the McChrystal Group has received federal funding from the state. The contract bypassed the normal bidding process. During a press conference at Washington University in […]
