The Trenton Park Board on March 3rd approved a bid for tree stump removal as well as actions involving the Van Meter shelter house and the swimming pool. The 2021-2022 budget was also reviewed. The approved stump removal bid was from Perkins Dozing of Jamesport for $200 per stump. Another bid was submitted from Custom […]
Governor Mike Parson announced the release of the remaining $280,783,940 in FY21 general revenue restrictions. “Thanks to our balanced approach to COVID-19, Missouri is in a much better position than what was originally projected,” Governor Parson said. “Our economy continues to come back strong, and we’re pleased to be able to release the remainder of these funds […]
Meetings are coming up at the Trenton City Hall and the Trenton Park Department office. The Trenton Planning and Zoning Commission has a public hearing tonight at 7 o’clock at city hall to review a section of an ordinance pertaining to apartments over downtown businesses. The review, at the request of the city of Trenton, […]
More than 1,400 Missouri prisoners enroll in career and technical training annually. During a Missouri House Budget Committee hearing this week, Trevor Foley with the state Department of Corrections, says nearly 1,600 professional certifications were issued to offenders in the fiscal year 2020. Foley says the prison system has a great placement rate […]
The governor’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes a two percent pay increase for state workers beginning next January. Trevor Foley, with the Missouri Department of Corrections, says the request is welcomed. Governor Parson’s budget proposal also includes an additional two percent pay increase for three cook classes and an extra […]
The Missouri Public Defender System has a waiting list of about 2,000 low-income people requesting legal services. Governor Parson’s next state budget proposal attempts to reduce that list by requesting 1.1 million dollars to hire 16 extra attorneys. During a House Budget Committee hearing this week, Director Mary Fox says the office’s caseload is growing […]
There is bipartisan support for legislation ensuring that Missourians cannot be taxed on their federal stimulus checks. Missouri House Budget Committee chairman Cody Smith of Carthage presented his bill Wednesday in Jefferson City, Smith tells lawmakers it’s important to act, noting that under Missouri’s tax code, federal stimulus checks related to COVID are […]
(Missouri Independent) – The plan for distributing money directly to Missouri counties in the current version of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill is pretty simple – each gets $195.44 per person. But for cities, instead of a formula based on population, Congress divvies up the money using the method for determining Community Development Block Grant allocations. […]
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 […]
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen approved a motion regarding electric rates on Monday evening, February 22nd. The motion was to clarify that any business outside of a commercially zoned area that is required to possess a valid business license will be required to pay a commercial electric rate for the property that is used for […]
The Grundy County Commission appointed a county health officer and participated in a conference call with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) representatives regarding a Streambank Stabilization project the morning of February 23rd. Presiding Commissioner Phillip Ray reports Elizabeth Gibson was reappointed as the county health officer. The commission, Marty Comstock and Dennis Speichenger of NRCS, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Republican state Senators advanced sweeping legislation early Tuesday morning aimed at penalizing protestors who block streets, while also providing further protections for law enforcement under investigation for misconduct or excessive force. The bill also aims to prevent municipalities from decreasing the budgets for law enforcement agencies in Missouri by more than 12 percent over […]
(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 […]
Missouri Department of Transportation crews are focusing on pothole repair through April. When you see a MoDOT crew making repairs, motorists should slow down and move over a lane to give them room to work. Crews started working to address the pesky potholes as soon as there was a break in the weather last week. […]
In 2019, Gov. Mike Parson closed a prison in northwest Missouri’s Cameron. Most staff and inmates transferred to the other prison in town – Western Missouri Correctional Center. Now, Parson wants to reopen the Crossroads Correctional Center and turn it into a training academy for correctional officers. During a House Budget Committee hearing, Trevor Foley […]
Missouri could catch up by the end of the next state budget year on its outstanding debt owed to counties for jail reimbursements. For years, the state has been behind in paying counties and the city of St. Louis for a portion of a defendant’s entire local jail stay if the individual ends up going […]
The women’s prison in northeast Missouri’s Vandalia could have about half of its housing units permanently closed. Trevor Foley, with the state Department of Corrections, says Governor Mike Parson’s new state budget proposal would make the change. Gov. Parson’s proposed $34.1 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning in July includes about $802 million for […]
(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 […]
Missouri adults are less educated today than nationally. That’s what state House Budget Committee members learned Wednesday during a hearing about Governor Parson’s next state budget proposal for Missouri’s colleges and universities. Higher Education and Workforce Development Department Commissioner Zora Mulligan says there have been many efforts to change this trend. Mulligan says […]
(Missouri Independent) – The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a report Monday found a gradual increase to a $15 federal minimum wage by 2025 would reduce poverty, add $54 billion to the deficit over a decade and increase pay for millions of low-income workers. The report could help Democrats make a strong case for including a […]
