State Auditor Nicole Galloway has issued an audit report on Livingston County financial statements for the two years ended December 31st, 2020. The audit by McBride, Locke, and Associates, LLC includes recommendations. One recommendation is that the county adopts an investment policy in accordance with state statutes and review compliance with the policy at least […]
Tag: claimed
Struggle over tax break for inherited farmland churns below surface in reconciliation bill
(Missouri Independent) – Agricultural groups and farm-state lawmakers notched a significant win when U.S. House Democrats chose not to touch a big tax break for inherited property, avoiding, for now, a confrontation. But opponents remain wary that the idea could come back at any time as Democrats shape their massive $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, and […]
Missouri lawmakers look to undermine Biden COVID vaccine mandate
(Missouri Independent) – Members of the Missouri House on Wednesday floated the idea of pursuing legislation to undermine a mandate from the Biden administration meant to increase vaccination rates in the U.S. The House Judiciary Committee held what Rep. David Evans said was the first in a series of discussions about vaccine mandates, including an executive order […]
Local elections in Iowa to Include voting changes
There is no federal or statewide race this fall, but Iowa voters in many cities will still head to the polls for municipal and school elections and county auditors hope they are informed about sweeping changes the state adopted this year dealing with voting. In March, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill, which, among other things, reduces […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to $335 million fraud scheme and $615,000 tax violations
A Missouri, man who was charged in two federal cases pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a $335 million scheme to defraud federal programs that award contracts to firms owned by minorities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans, and in a separate case to filing false tax returns that cheated the government out of […]
Bethany man charged with stalking and assault after allegedly abusing a woman on six occasions
A Bethany man has been charged with three felony counts of third-degree assault involving a special victim after he allegedly abused a female on six occasions. Thirty-one-year-old Ronald Duane Smith Junior has also been charged with first-degree stalking. Bond was set at $100,000 cash only. A bond hearing is set for September 16th. A probable […]
Virginia’s black farmers push lawmakers to provide debt relief, end lawsuits delaying USDA loan forgiveness
Farmers of color are urging Congress to end a slew of lawsuits delaying a loan-forgiveness program designed to make amends for years of loan discrimination against minority farmers. White farmers are claiming in court Congress’s $4 billion debt relief for Black farmers, part of a COVID-19 stimulus package, amounts to reverse discrimination. John Boyd Jr., president of […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
Missouri tax attorney pleads guilty to tax and labor violations
A Missouri attorney has pleaded guilty in federal court to tax and labor violations. Meagan M. Howe, also known as Meagan M. Hasty, 35, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Thursday, Aug. 19, to one count of failure to pay employment tax and one count of making a […]
Audio: Roots and Blues Festival in Columbia to require vaccinations or negative COVID-19 test
After more than a year without live music, the driving beat of a snare drum, the pulsing rhythm of a bass guitar, and sweet vocal melodies floating through the air around Stephens Lake Park will be welcome sounds as the Roots N Blues Festival makes its highly anticipated return to Columbia September 24-26, 2021. This year, however, […]
Livingston County Sheriff reports on recent incidents and investigations
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox has released information about incidents his office worked on recently. One of those incidents involved a deputy making a vehicle stop in Chillicothe on July 26 for an alleged traffic violation. Cox reports the deputy found the juvenile driver did not have a valid license. He says the passenger in […]
Coffey man charged with failure to register as a sex offender
A Coffey man has been charged with felony failure to register as a sex offender after law enforcement responded to a report of a stolen four-wheeler earlier this month. Thirty-one-year-old Brandon Tyler May has also been charged with felony sex offender physically present or loitering within 500 feet of a park with a playground, pool, […]
Sheriff Scott Sherer arrests 18-year-old teenager for burglary at funeral home in Grant City
Worth County authorities investigated a burglary at a funeral home in Grant City, resulting in the arrest of a teen who’s now been charged with two felonies as well as the referral of a minor to juvenile authorities. Eighteen-year-old Cassandra Marie Boner of Grant City is charged with second-degree burglary and first-degree property damage for […]
Roots N Blues Festival returns to Columbia in September
After more than a year without live music, the driving beat of a snare drum, the pulsing rhythm of a bass guitar, and sweet vocal melodies floating through the air around Stephens Lake Park will be welcome sounds as the Roots N Blues Festival makes its highly anticipated return to Columbia September 24-26, 2021. Missouri’s […]
Woman arrested for fake COVID-19 immunization and vaccination card scheme
A California-licensed homeopathic doctor was arrested for her alleged scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis (the controversial use of homeopathy as a preventive against serious infectious diseases) immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna vaccine. Juli A. Mazi, 41, of […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to botched robbery at auto dealer; robbery attempt ended in firefight with owner and shooting of employee
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court to the botched robbery of a Grandview, Mo., auto dealership that ended when he shot an employee while fleeing after a shootout with the owner, who was also armed. Lyndale E. Watson, also known as “Red, “Blood,” and “Stoni Blud,” 36, Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. […]
Funeral services announced for Lainie Kate Lewis
Funeral services have been announced for Lainie Kate Lewis, age 15, whose life was claimed in a Friday, July 9, 2021 crash. Lainie was born the daughter of Amy and Gary Lewis on September 9, 2005, in Kansas City, Missouri. She just completed her freshman year at Grundy R-5 High School in Galt, Missouri. She […]
15-year-old girl dies in crash southeast of Laredo
A crash at approximately 3 pm on Friday, six miles southeast of Laredo, claimed the life of a fifteen-year-old Laredo girl. The girl was the driver of a 1993 Chevrolet Silverado that was westbound on Southeast 60th Street. She lost control of the vehicle on a gravel road, traveled off the south side of the […]
Driver hits low-hanging power line on Pleasant View Avenue in Trenton
The Trenton Police Department reports no one was injured when a trash truck owned by KC Waste Containers struck an overhead power line on Pleasant View Avenue on July 5th. Forty-four-year-old Jonathan Howard Ceradsky of Trenton drove the truck north on Pleasant View and the vehicle hit the power line near Fourth Street. The power […]
Missouri prison healthcare contract won by a company accused of bid-rigging in Tennessee
(Missouri Independent) – The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat […]