(Missouri Independent) -As debates over school curriculum rage nationwide, the Missouri House granted initial approval Tuesday to a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” that would allow for lawsuits and funding to be withheld from schools that repeatedly violate the proposed law. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, aims to “to empower parents to enforce” rights […]
Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced the entry of a consent judgment against Happy Fun Events, LLC, Owen Spencer Hunn, and Martha Hunn. The Hunns owned Happy Fun Events, a Utah-based company, that put on “Lantern Fest” events around the country. Happy Fun Events had scheduled an event in Jefferson County for November 2018 that it […]
A woman in Florida pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized Mexican agricultural workers admitted into the United States under the H-2A temporary visa program. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement. According […]
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division is seeking a final order from Commissioner David Minnick for $200,000 in civil penalties and other remedies against California-based Until Tomorrow Drivetrains, LLC and Dennis R. Di Ricco. Between December 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017, Until Tomorrow Drivetrains, LLC and Di Ricco, with the assistance of an […]
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia announced a two-count indictment charging Lauren Handy, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia; Jonathan Darnel, 40, of Arlington, Virginia, Jay Smith, 32, of Freeport, New York; Paulette Harlow, 73, of Kingston, Massachusetts; Jean Marshall, […]
(Missouri Independent) – A bill that would make it a felony to donate fetal tissue from abortions for research or therapies won first-round approval in the Missouri House Tuesday, but lawmakers blocked an effort to make it illegal to help women obtain an abortion outside the state. The bill sponsored by Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, […]
(Missouri Independent) – An ex-FBI agent who conducted the criminal investigation of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in 2018 pleaded guilty Wednesday to evidence tampering and was sentenced to a year of probation. William Tisaby, 69, was hired by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to assist in the investigation of allegations that Greitens threatened […]
Missouri WIC is extending the temporary increase of the Cash Value Benefit for Fruit and Vegetable Purchases (CVB) through September 2022. The increase will continue to be $24 per month for child participants, $43 per month for pregnant and postpartum women participants, and $47 per month for breastfeeding women participants. Standard CVB values range from […]
Emily Hartley, Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council Deputy Director, was appointed to the Missouri Advisory Committee by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, effective Feb. 18, 2022. Advisory Committees have recently examined water affordability, school discipline disparities, policing practices, mental health and the criminal justice system, legal financial obligations, fair housing, hate crimes, voting rights, maternal […]
Missouri WIC announces a new, temporary waiver that will allow the purchase of larger containers of formula using WIC benefits during the Abbott infant formula recall event. This temporary waiver allows Missouri WIC participants to purchase larger containers of formula if standard-size Similac formula is not available at authorized WIC retailers. Participants may begin to purchase […]
(Missouri Independent) – Inmates at St. Louis’ primary jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday accusing guards of torture with mace and depriving them of water for days. The inmates are represented by a team of attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, ArchCity Defenders, the SLU Law Legal Clinics, and Rights Behind Bars. “They spray chemical agents […]
A federal indictment was unsealed in Portland, Oregon, charging a former Oregon Department of Corrections employee with sexually assaulting a dozen female inmates while serving as a nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s only women’s prison. Tony Daniel Klein, 37, of Clackamas County, Oregon, is charged with 21 counts of depriving the victims […]
January unemployment rates for area counties range from Linn County at five percent, down to two point seven percent reported for Worth County. January is the most recent month the County by County statistics are available. Missouri’s January unemployment rate is four point four percent. Grundy County is a little under the state average with […]
(Missouri Independent) – Democrats and Republicans forged an agreement early Wednesday on a spending package that will fund the government for the next eight months, as well as provide billions in emergency funding for COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. The announcement means Congress should be able to avert a government shutdown when a spending […]
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member David Rouzer (R-NC), and Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) are leading 201 House Republicans in renewing calls for the Biden administration to drop its plan to expand the scope of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). House […]
With six councilmen present, Trenton’s Administrative Committee is recommending the repeal of the current ban on specific breeds of dogs. In addition, the committee wants the Mayor to appoint, with council consent, an animal welfare committee of citizens to offer recommendations on animal control issues. Councilman Danny Brewer made the motion to lift the breed […]
A Polo man was sentenced March 3rd to life in the Missouri Department of Corrections on second-degree murder. Online court information shows 36-year-old Kevin Lynn Barnett Junior was also sentenced in Livingston County Circuit Court to seven years on unlawful possession of a firearm. The sentences are to run consecutively to each count and all […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden formally announced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. “President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 51, […]
In coordination with the Missouri National Guard and the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development, Governor Mike Parson announced the establishment of the Project Eagle Apprenticeship Program, to qualify military training and experience towards a federally-recognized apprenticeship certification. “We are so proud of our military men and women here in Missouri. This program, […]
A federal grand jury in Portland, Oregon, returned an indictment charging an Oregon Department of Human Services employee with kidnapping a woman with significant disabilities in his care, driving her to a secluded location, and engaging with her in sexual misconduct. Zakary Glover, 28, of Lebanon, Oregon, is charged with depriving the victim of her […]
