(Missouri Independent) – As bills expanding charter schools and creating new scholarship accounts for private school tuition make their way through the process, one piece of legislation is trying to give students more options within the public schools that already exist. House Bill 543, sponsored by Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia, would establish the “Public School […]
(Missouri Independent) – The biggest item in a $1 billion supplemental spending bill would set aside money for a new method of making Medicaid payments, but exactly how it would work or how much it would cost is unknown. The House Budget Committee on Tuesday held a public hearing on the bill that would also […]
(Missouri Independent) – While playing politics with healthcare in Missouri is certainly nothing new, holding Missouri Medicaid hostage over basic birth control is a stunning — and consequential — shift. As captured in headlines across the state, state Sen. Paul Wieland has put the entire Missouri Medicaid program in jeopardy with his late-night amendment to a […]
The Republican-controlled Missouri House has given initial approval to defunding a Medicaid expansion effort approved by voters last year. The chamber could vote to use the governor’s one-point-nine billion dollar budget request for the expansion to instead help seniors in nursing homes, the developmentally disabled, and expand mental health programs, among other things. Here is […]
One of the topics discussed Monday on KTTN’s Open Line was the use of Trentons’ diesel generators to help provide power to municipalities within the Missouri public energy pool that Trenton is a member of. The discussion also involved higher bills customers may be receiving due to their increased usage of electricity during the extremely […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt officially jumped into the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, making him the second major Republican hopeful seeking to replace Roy Blunt. Schmitt’s decision comes after former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens jumped into the race earlier this week. Both made their announcements on Fox News. “Washington, D.C., needs more […]
The head of the Missouri Department of Social Services is scheduled to appear before a panel of lawmakers Wednesday about the agency’s handling of abuse investigations within boarding schools. The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight has called a Wednesday afternoon hearing to question the department’s acting director, Jennifer Tidball. The Kansas City Star has […]
(Missouri Independent) – The House Budget Committee will submit its revisions to Gov. Mike Parson’s $34.1 billion state operating budget to the full House this week without the benefit of clear guidelines for spending new infusions of federal cash. The committee must also decide whether and how it will use a record general revenue surplus. The fund’s cash balance […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged the U.S. Senate to immediately pass legislation to close loopholes on background checks for guns and to ban assault weapons, following a mass shooting that killed 10 at a Colorado supermarket. “This should not be a partisan issue,” Biden said. “This is an American issue.” Biden’s […]
A man arrested by Trenton Police on Saturday was being returned on Monday to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Kansas City was the last known address for 44-year-old Patrick Oyler. The warrant from probation and parole accused Oyler of failure to obtain prior permission before changing his address and with failure to report as directed. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Legislation creating a path to citizenship for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children face a new border crisis and old partisan objections, diminishing the chances it will become law despite full Democratic control of Congress and the White House. On Thursday, the U.S. House is poised to pass the American […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt led a coalition of 12 states in filing suit against President Joe Biden’s administration over a massive expansion of federal regulations through executive order, potentially impacting nearly every aspect of the economy and Missouri household. “Manufacturing, agriculture, and energy production are essential to Missouri’s economy and employ thousands of hard-working […]
Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley voted Friday against adding a minimum wage hike to the current COVID-19 relief bill in the Senate but is calling for a higher minimum wage — and a tax credit for some blue-collar workers. Hawley, in a stand-alone bill, would require companies that make more than $1 billion annually to […]
A state House committee has voted unanimously today to pass two bills that aim to keep tabs on unregulated faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. Former students from across the country attended a recent hearing and talked about getting beaten, being starved, restrained, forced to eat their own vomit, and put in isolation for days or […]
After about twelve hours of debate, the Missouri Senate refrained from voting overnight on a contentious K-12 public education package. There was some confusion towards the end that appeared to ultimately lead to the plan getting shelved – at least for now. Several changes were made over the course of the day and night. As […]
(Missouri Independent) – Last spring, as Missouri businesses shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, Gov. Mike Parson warned that the state was headed for the worst financial crunch since the 2008 recession. Ten months later, Parson presented a budget plan that anticipates a $1.1 billion surplus on July 1, the biggest in state history. And if the $1.9 trillion pandemic […]
The city of Princeton reports natural gas customers can resume their usage at normal levels. The city previously requested during the recent extreme cold weather, that customers conserve on natural gas usage. The city of Princeton wants to thank customers for their energy conservation efforts. Governor Mike Parson says his office has been contacted by […]
(Missouri Independent) – Thousands of Missourians facing repayment of mistakenly paid unemployment benefits would get some relief under legislation passed with a bipartisan vote Wednesday in a Missouri House committee. The bill, which will likely be debated on the House floor next week, would forgive debts due to overpayments from federal coronavirus relief programs but would not […]
At the request of the Southwest Power Pool, Evergy is asking customers to conserve electricity use as much as possible through Wednesday, Feb. 17. The SPP, which coordinates the 17-state regional power supply, advises that the region’s coldest weather in decades is creating a high demand for electricity. At the same time, the extreme weather […]
Missouri lawmakers in both parties say residents who received unemployment overpayments due to the state’s mistake should be able to keep that money. The Missouri House Government Oversight Committee is set to vote Monday on several bipartisan bills, requiring state Labor officials to waive non-fraudulent unemployment overpayments. State Labor director Anna Hui has […]
