Kids age 5 to 11 next in line for COVID-19 vaccines as White House rolls out plans

(Missouri Independent) – Smaller needles. Redesigned shipments to ease the storage needs in pediatricians’ offices. And enough vials of the COVID-19 vaccine to inoculate the 28 million U.S. children between ages 5 and 11. Those are among the plans announced by the White House on Wednesday as federal and state officials prepare for a regulatory decision to […]

Veteran's Generic Graphic

Increasing access to counseling services for military families is goal of new bill by lawmakers

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) introduced the bipartisan COMFORT Act to solve the current shortage of Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) and increase access to counseling services on military installations. The senators’ bill allows for license portability for MFLCs, so counselors can work outside of the state in which they are licensed. “Families […]

MoDOT Website

Missouri Department of Transportation accepting proposals on Shoal Creek bridge in Livingston County

The Missouri Department of Transportation is accepting proposals until the end of this year for the reuse of the Pony Truss, Warren alternating vertical bridge on Livingston County Route C over Shoal Creek, currently located 1.4 miles northwest of Dawn. The Shoal Creek Bridge is a 1933, rigid-connected, 178-foot long bridge with a 100-foot Warren […]

Brandon Tyler May

Man from Coffey charged with multiple felonies after stealing a 4-wheeler and failing to register as a sex offender

A Coffey man has been charged with four felonies after he allegedly conspired with friends to help him steal a four-wheeler and reportedly did not register a vehicle on the sex offender registry. Thirty-one-year-old Brandon Tyler May faces charges of stealing a motor vehicle, failure to register as a sex offender, and two counts of […]

Edward Eli Withey (Photo courtesy Missouri State Highway Patrol)

Man charged with murdering wife, facing charges in Daviess County, after assaulting inmate at Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail

A Higbee man has been charged in Daviess County with two counts of felony third-degree assault after allegedly assaulting another detainee at the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail in August. Twenty-one-year-old Edward James Elijah Withey’s bond was set at $35,000 cash only. He is to submit to any form of alcohol or drug testing immediately upon the […]

Child Molestation

Man from Moberly facing 9 counts of child molestation in Linn and Randolph counties

A Moberly man faces sex-related charges in Linn County after investigations in Marceline and Randolph County regarding allegations of sexual abuse. Online court information shows 39-year old David Aaron Hart has been charged in Linn County with the felonies of first-degree statutory rape, first-degree statutory sodomy, and first-degree child molestation. Bond was set at $500,000 […]

Sexual Assault

Man from Chula facing charges in Linn County after sexually assaulting daughter

A Chula man faces two felonies in Linn County after he allegedly sexually assaulted his daughter at their house in Brookfield sometime between January 2016 and December 2017. Thirty-seven-year-old Michael Lee Cooper has been charged with second-degree sexual abuse involving aggravated sexual offense and sexual misconduct involving a child under 15. A criminal summons was […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

Missouri unemployment rate drops to 3.8% in September

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from August 2021 to September 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,500 jobs over the month, with job gains in service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in September 2021, down from 4.0 […]

Jeremiah Horton and Tehya Kelley Booking Photo

17-year-old girl from Chillicothe believed to have died from taking counterfeit pills; Two suspects in custody

Chillicothe Police on Sunday conducted a suspicious death investigation involving a teenager who is believed to have ingested what police call “Counterfeit Prescription Pills.” Two people of interest from Chillicothe have been arrested and were charged on Monday for their alleged roles in the death of the 17-year-old girl. On Sunday at 11:30, Chillicothe officers […]

Photo of Kansas City, Missouri Metro area (Photo Courtesy of Pixabay)

Feds seize property of Kansas City area companies accused of COVID relief fraud

(Missouri Independent) – The federal government has seized two vehicles and is threatening to seize a lake house, allegedly purchased illegally with COVID-19 relief money by a Kansas City-area businessman. The property was seized from several real estate companies incorporated in Kansas by Joseph Campbell, with most operating under a version of the name Titan […]