Aynsley Harmon, a 12-year-old from Kahoka, Missouri, wanted to be able to talk with a deaf relative she sees at family reunions. So she did what any resourceful 4-H’er does: She looked for a project to help her accomplish her goal. With a lot of support and collaboration along the way, her determination resulted in […]
Bond has been set for a Milan man charged with first-degree murder after his wife was found dead in the couple’s apartment last month. The court set bond for 20-year-old Edward James Elijah “Eli” Withey at $100,000 cash only. He was previously to be held on no bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July […]
Governor Mike Parson signed HB 271 into law, which establishes greater accountability for local leaders when imposing public health orders and prohibits local COVID-19 vaccine passports. “This legislation I am signing today requires local leaders to be more transparent in their reasoning and accountable for their decisions when it comes to public health orders,” Governor Parson said. “It […]
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorney General Eric Schmitt has determined his office cannot investigate an alleged violation of Missouri’s open records laws by the governor’s office, an interpretation of state law that has transparency advocates alarmed. Missouri’s attorney general’s office is in charge of enforcing the Sunshine Law, which requires meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations […]
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of two individuals on June 10 and another individual being remanded to the custody of the sheriff. Twenty-six-year-old Samantha Katherine Persell of Kirksville has been charged with the felonies of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, amphetamine or methamphetamine, and misdemeanor driving while […]
(Missouri Independent) – For years after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, activists and community leaders have pushed to “re-envision public safety.” Inspired in part by the Ferguson Commission, which recommended that cities focus more resources on the root causes of crime, organizers across the state echoed these calls. But they largely fell on deaf ears. […]
A Missouri man who shot a law enforcement officer before shooting himself was sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking and illegally discharging a firearm in Joplin, Mo. E.F. Fitchpatrick, Jr., 47, of St. Louis, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court sentenced […]
Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) joined more than 200 colleagues today in calling on Speaker Pelosi to direct her committee chairs to look into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic started, the House of Representatives has held zero hearings on the origins of the virus and the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup. “Americans deserve […]
(Missouri Independent) – In the last week of April, the Linn County Health Department signaled that the COVID-19 pandemic had cooled enough that it could discontinue weekly reports on new cases. With only three active cases on April 21, the urgency for frequent updates seemed to have passed. But the coronavirus came roaring back this […]
(Missouri Independent) – From statehouses to Congress, Republicans have launched into a fight against the teaching of “critical race theory,” which just a year ago was a niche academic term. Experts in critical race theory say it’s about acknowledging how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, and the concept is being mischaracterized […]
(Missouri Independent) – Republicans in the Missouri Senate should move to shut off debate if a filibuster blocks anti-abortion lawmakers from putting their stamp on provider taxes that fund Medicaid, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in an interview with The Independent this week. The advice was not, however, well received by the Senate’s Republican or […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri regulators on Tuesday eased the rules governing the design of massive industrial hog facilities in a move critics claim was meant to help one controversial facility. The state’s Clean Water Commission voted 5-1 to narrow the definition of groundwater in the state’s rules governing the construction of “concentrated animal feeding operations” […]
A Milan man has been charged with first-degree murder after his wife was found dead in the couple’s apartment with an apparent gunshot wound to her face. Twenty-year-old Edward James Elijah “Eli” Withey has also been charged with armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse. He is to be held without bond. A probable […]
Bipartisan law enforcement legislation that bans most police chokeholds and eliminates residency requirements for Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers is now heading to the Missouri governor’s desk after receiving final House approval Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City. Senate Bill 53 is sponsored by State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) and State Rep. Lane Roberts (R-Joplin). Representative Roberts […]
(Missouri Independent) – As the state of Missouri battles its second year of the novel coronavirus’ spread, lawmakers on Wednesday sent to the governor’s desk a bill that aims to rein in local public health orders and ban vaccine passports. The provisions were included in House Bill 271, which deals with local government transparency. It grew […]
The Missouri Legislature has passed a proposal that would boost the state’s gas and diesel tax for the first time in about 25 years. The state House of Representatives voted Tuesday night 104-52 in favor of increasing the user fee by 12.5 total cents over five years. The plan would also give most drivers a […]
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education approved a health insurance proposal on May 10th. The proposal from Thomas McGee includes no increase in premiums for employees. The base HSA for an employee will remain at $516.63, and the base PPO will stay at $607.35. The district cap will remain at $600. This is the third […]
Multiple awards were presented to North Central Missouri College faculty/staff in recognition of their years of service and exemplary accomplishments. Linda Brown, Director of Records and Enrollment/Registrar, Cindy Petrie, Admissions Representative, Lisa Hostetler, WIB Executive Director, Linda Cowling, English Instructor, Vicki Weaver, Board Clerk, Mike O’Neal, Custodian, Stan Scott, Industrial Technology Instructor, and Steve Richman […]
(Missouri Independent) – States, cities, and counties can begin to tap their share of the $350 billion in federal funds intended to spur a national recovery from the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, White House officials announced Monday. Missouri will receive $2.7 billion in federal funding, with another $2.5 billion in direct aid for counties […]
