When the 2024 presidential primary season kicks off, there’s a good chance Iowa’s caucuses won’t be in the spotlight as much. Last week, the Democratic National Committee adopted plans to reshape the initial wave of states that choose their nominees. They’ll now have to apply, with a final decision expected this summer. Terese Grant is the president […]
Tag: concern
Missouri launches apprenticeships for direct-support professionals
Missouri is launching an apprenticeship program to expand talent pipelines for Direct Support Professionals, who work with people with developmental disabilities. The Show-Me State, like many others, is facing a serious direct-care workforce shortage. To answer the need, the program Missouri Talent Pathways was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Duane Shumate, the state coordinator […]
Leonardo DRS expands in West Plains creating more than 100 jobs
Leonardo DRS, a leading provider of defense products and technologies, has announced the start of the expansion of its manufacturing campus in West Plains. The company’s expansion is expected to create more than 100 jobs and was enabled in part by a cooperative effort to construct a new overpass that addresses concerns affecting logistics and […]
Second Harvest Community Food Bank receives $211,000 grant
The Second Harvest Community Food Bank has received a $211,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to assist the food bank with increased expenses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Rural Health Care Grant will also facilitate mobile food distributions in Northwest Missouri. Emergency Rural Health Care Grants are part of […]
Pleasant View R-6 Board of Education addresses concerns over mold at Tuesday meeting
Mold concerns were addressed at the Pleasant View R-6 Board of Education meeting on April 12th. Megan Devorss, Emily Cox, and Tiffany Haffner spoke during a public comments portion of the meeting about their concern there was mold in the third, fourth, and fifth-grade classrooms. They and Jennifer Roberts also voiced support for the reconsideration […]
Senate committee approves bill that could overturn Missouri Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – A constitutional amendment asking Missourians to let lawmakers decide year-to-year whether the state will offer Medicaid to working-age adults moved closer to passage on Wednesday. By an 8-5 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee sent the House-passed proposal to the full Senate for debate. Only Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, voted with Democrats to oppose the measure, which […]
Legislators weigh blocking COVID visitor restrictions at Missouri hospitals, nursing homes
(Missouri Independent) – State Rep. Ed Lewis had just hours to say goodbye. In March 2020, his 89-year-old mother had to go to the hospital after suffering from a fall. Lewis’ sister was their mother’s primary caregiver, but in the pandemic’s first days as hospitals restricted visitors, family members weren’t allowed to stay with her. Lewis […]
Amid curriculum debates, sweeping ‘parents’ Bill of Rights’ wins initial House approval
(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 […]
Missouri Attorney General’s office and Moberly School District reach agreement in Sunshine lawsuit
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that the Attorney General’s Office has reached a favorable resolution in a lawsuit the Office filed against Moberly School District over alleged violations of the Sunshine Law. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed suit against the Moberly School District in November 2021 for failing to comply with the Sunshine […]
Trenton City Council reorganizes after election, address ATV and UTVs driven after dark
Oaths of office were taken Monday evening by three of the four Trenton City Councilmen elected last week. Assuming two-year terms on the council were Glen Briggs in 1st Ward, Marvin Humphreys in 2nd Ward, and David Mlika in 3rd Ward. Councilman Duane Urich from the 4th Ward was absent from the council meeting and […]
Advocates worried more rural kids may go hungry this summer
Federal waivers put in place at the height of the pandemic allowed federal child nutrition programs more flexibility in delivering meals to households because kids were not at school. Those waivers are set to expire in a few months, and in states like Arkansas, groups working to fight hunger warn that more children, especially in rural areas, […]
Hunger concerns spur calls for higher SNAP eligibility
Food insecurity is getting more attention these days, and some working families still have trouble meeting basic needs under mounting living expenses and aid eligibility being out of reach. A Minnesota plan aims to close the gap. Minnesota is one of the states not at the maximum eligibility level for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). […]
Hawley rips Biden administration over plans to allocate veteran resources to illegal immigrants
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, expressing deep concern with the administration’s decision to rescind the Title 42 order amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis – with numbers surging at the southern border. Senator Hawley also inquired about disturbing new reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) […]
Former state health department official hired to oversee creation of Missouri’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri task force assigned with overseeing the creation of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program has hired a former state health department veteran to serve as the program’s executive director. Dean Linneman, the former director of the Department of Health and Senior Services Division of Regulation and Licensure, was hired on […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol Dive Team called in to search Elmwood Lake in Milan
A dive team from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri Department of Conservation searched for possible hidden evidence at Elmwood Lake in Milan on April 4th. Public Information and Education Officer, Corporal Justin Dunn, reports the Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control received a tip about possible hidden evidence. Dunn says divers […]
Women within Missouri GOP speak out against Eric Greitens as party remains silent
(Missouri Independent) – In just two weeks since allegations of domestic violence surfaced, Eric Greitens’ campaign for the U.S. Senate has been under siege from fellow Republicans urging him to drop out of the race. With one notable exception. The state party, which in recent years has denounced several candidates running under the GOP banner for […]
Biden administration to halt pandemic policy blocking migrants who claim asylum
(Missouri Independent) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that the government will terminate a Trump-era policy that prevented migrants from claiming asylum during a health crisis, including the coronavirus pandemic. The policy will end on May 23, the CDC wrote in its notice. “There is no longer a serious danger that the […]
USDA offers CLEAR30 option for producers to enroll land with expiring conservation contracts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing the signup period for its Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers initiative (CLEAR30) — a nationwide opportunity for certain landowners and agricultural producers currently implementing water quality practices through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to enroll in 30-year contracts, extending the lifespan and strengthening the benefits of important water quality […]
Hawley introduces “PROTECT Act of 2022” which will toughen sentences for child porn offenders
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the PROTECT Act of 2022, which protects children from sexual exploitation by enhancing the penalties for possessing child pornography and by preventing judges from sentencing offenders below federal guidelines. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Representative Ken Buck (CO-4) is […]
Preferred Family Healthcare to pay more than $8 million in fines related to embezzlement, bribery investigation
Springfield, Missouri-based nonprofit Preferred Family Healthcare will pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement announced, which acknowledges the criminal conduct of its former officers and employees. “Preferred Family Healthcare must relinquish the illegal profits it garnered from […]