(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 […]
Tag: civil
Holding Medicaid hostage over birth control defies law and reason
(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 […]
Audio: Missouri House Committee hears testimony on checkpoint and roadblock legislation
A veteran Missouri lawmaker who served as an O’Fallon police officer for 13 years is proposing a constitutional amendment that involves checkpoints and roadblocks. Lake St. Louis GOP State Representative Justin Hill’s proposal would prohibit a roadside checkpoint or roadblock set up by law enforcement, except in emergency situations to prevent the escape of a […]
Audio: Lawmaker proposes amendment prohibiting roadside checkpoints and roadblocks by law enforcement
You’ll be voting next November on a proposed constitutional amendment involving checkpoints and roadblocks if a veteran Missouri lawmaker has his way. State Rep. Justin Hill (R-Lake St. Louis) will present his proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday at noon, before the Missouri House Downsizing State Government Committee in Jefferson City. The committee is chaired by […]
Federal Appeals Court sides with Missouri Attorney General’s Office in fake meat labeling case
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his Office has prevailed in federal appeals court in the case Turtle Island Foods, SPC v. the State of Missouri, otherwise known as the fake meat labeling case. Earlier this morning, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s ruling in the […]
Biden calls on U.S. Senate to act on background checks after Colorado mass shooting
(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 […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol opens applications for 113th Recruit Class
The Missouri State Highway Patrol, a premier law enforcement agency, is testing for new troopers. The Patrol is encouraging qualified individuals of all backgrounds to apply and will offer testing at nine different locations in Missouri. Those who successfully complete testing will be eligible to continue in the selection process for the 113th Recruit Class, […]
Audio: Two police officers in Missouri jailed after being charged with rape
Two St. Louis police officers have been charged with the sexual assault of four women, including claims of drugging at least one woman’s drink. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports 38-year-old Lafeal Lawshea is accused of raping two women in 2009 and then sexually assaulting a civilian police department employee in 2019. He […]
Most counties in northern Missouri hold unemployment rates below the state average
Most area counties have unemployment rates that are below the state average in Missouri. That average for January is 5.1%. Linn, Sullivan, and Carroll counties have rates above the state average. The latest county by county report shows Linn County at 7.3%, Sullivan County at 5.6%, and Carroll County at 5.3%. Grundy County’s unemployment rate […]
Audio: Missouri Public Defender System handles about 6,000 child support criminal cases annually
Missouri law makes it a crime when a parent fails to pay child support. The Missouri Public Defender System handles roughly 6,000 of these cases annually. During a House Budget Committee hearing, System Director Mary Fox says handling those cases in civil court, instead of criminal court, could have a significant financial impact on her […]
Daviess County Sheriff’s Department reports suspect who fled crash on Monday has been apprehended
The Daviess County Sheriff’s Department has reported the apprehension of the suspect who allegedly fled the scene of a Monday traffic accident on Interstate 35. It was about noon on Wednesday when officials from several departments mobilized in the Civil Bend area to conduct a “grid search” for 28-year-old Bradley DeWayne Taylor. The sheriff’s office […]
Senator Hawley along with lawmakers from Arkansas, Tennessee and Nebraska introduce bill imposing sanctions on drug cartels
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) introduced the Significant Transnational Criminal Organization Designation Act, legislation that would subject certain foreign criminal organizations like drug cartels to sanctions, including immigration, financial, and criminal penalties. The process would be similar to the system used for designating entities as […]
Daviess County Sheriff’s Department seeking assistance locating suspect who fled the scene of a crash
The Daviess County Sheriffs Department reports that at approximately 12 noon on Monday, officers were dispatched to a vehicle crash on Interstate 35 near the 72-mile marker. Before the arrival of officers, a male subject had fled the scene on foot. A manhunt ensued; however, the subject was unable to be located. The sheriff’s department […]
Missouri Attorney General files suit against Jefferson County contractor
Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office has filed a civil lawsuit against Jason Soetebier and Soetebier Contracting LLC of Jefferson County, Missouri. The suit alleges that Soetebier agreed to complete interior and exterior construction projects for various customers in exchange for full or partial upfront payments. In each instance, Soetebier failed to start […]
Missouri Attorney General: Not enough evidence for murder charges in Tory Sanders case
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has announced his office’s findings after reviewing all available existing evidence and any available new evidence in the Tory Sanders case. Consistent with the findings of then-Attorney General Josh Hawley and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who also consulted with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Attorney General’s […]
Interstate 35 pavement repairs to begin in Clinton County
Contractor crews working with the Missouri Department of Transportation will begin pavement repairs soon on Interstate 35 between Route 116 and Shoal Creek. Iowa Civil Contracting was awarded the $2,835,743.79 contract to repair sections of I-35 between mile markers 41 and 49 in both directions. The contractor intends to begin, Monday, March 1, on the […]
Defendant sentenced to 36-years in prison on multiple counts of sex and drug trafficking
Prince Bixler, 41, of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Wier to 36 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $333,100 in restitution to three sex trafficking victims. In September 2020, a federal jury convicted Bixler of 15 federal felonies related to his […]