(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]
Tag: congress
Hawley introduces “Global Force Management Oversight Act” to prioritize China threat
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Global Force Management Oversight Act. This legislation will ensure Congress has the information it needs to help the Department of Defense (DoD) balance between combatant commanders’ seemingly unlimited requests for forces and the need to stay focused on China and the Indo-Pacific. “The Department of Defense says it’s prioritizing the […]
Audio: City of Trenton to receive more than $1 million through American Recovery Act funding
The City of Trenton is scheduled to receive a little more than $1 million through American Recovery Act funding. That according to City Administrator and Utility Director Ron Urton, who says the city is working with the state to get the funding. Urton adds that Congress set aside money due to COVID-19 issues […]
Group abandons effort to force a vote on Missouri gas tax increase
(Missouri Independent) – A push by a conservative anti-tax group to force a statewide vote on a gas tax hike approved by Missouri lawmakers earlier this year has been abandoned, the group’s Missouri director said Monday. Jeremy Cady, state director of Americans for Prosperity, confirmed via text message that his organization is no longer working to place the […]
U.S. Senate agrees to move ahead on $550 billion in new infrastructure spending
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators say they have worked through the sticking points on a major infrastructure package, and the Senate agreed on a procedural vote on Wednesday night to advance to debate on the proposal. That announcement came a week after Republicans blocked a test vote on the deal, with GOP […]
Audio: Congresswoman Hartzler says people crossing U.S.-Mexico border are bringing new COVID variant
The World Health Organization has added a coronavirus strain, known as lambda, to its variant watch list. West-central Missouri Republican Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says the variant has made its way to the U.S. from people crossing the southern border. The Washington Post reports the WHO does not yet consider lambda to be a […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Coalition of lawmakers urge Biden administration to drop proposed tax hike on farm families
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), along with the entire Senate Republican caucus, sent a letter to President Biden urging him to abandon his effort to impose a capital gains tax increase on family-owned businesses, farms, and ranches. Repealing this part of the tax code would have a devastating effect on multi-generation operations, which could lead […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to assaulting postal carrier
An Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to assaulting a postal carrier who was delivering his mail. Peter Harrington, 55, of Ozark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of assaulting an employee of the United States. By pleading guilty, Harrington admitted that he assaulted a U.S. Postal carrier […]
Blunt sponsors bipartisan senate effort to protect wildlife
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.) introduced the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) of 2021 to invest in proactive, on-the-ground conservation work led by states, territories, and Tribal nations to support the long-term health of fish and wildlife habitat all across America. “Missouri is home to some of the best hunting, […]
Governor Parson launches “MO VIP” campaign, giving vaccinated Missourians a chance at $10,000
Governor Mike Parson announced the launch of a statewide COVID-19 vaccination incentive program, MO VIP, to encourage vaccination among all Missourians age 12 and up. Over the next three months, 900 Missourians who have or will choose to be vaccinated will win cash or education savings account prizes in the amount of $10,000. “We understand […]
Groups urge those in charge of voting-district maps to put Missouri voters over partisan interests in redistricting
Redistricting reformers urged the people charged with drawing new voting-district maps in Missouri to commit to putting the voters over partisan interests. Governor Mike Parson has appointed a bipartisan group of commissioners to draw state legislative maps. The Legislature draws congressional maps. Caroline Fan, founder and president of the Missouri Asian American Youth Foundation said in […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting children and child pornography
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually assaulting two young children to produce child pornography and to receiving and distributing child pornography after his wife pleaded guilty to the same charges last month. Mark John Millman, 37, of Merriam Village, a citizen of Great Britain and a legal alien resident, pleaded […]
Lawmakers successfully push White House to drop proposal that would hurt small cities and rural communities
Lawmakers are celebrating the decision to drop a proposal before the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to redefine a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The proposal would have raised the threshold for an MSA from 50,000 residents to 100,000, which would have eliminated 144 areas from the designation, including St. Joseph. The move to drop […]
Audio: Missouri county considering whether to use federal aid to boost broadband access
The U.S. Department of Economic Development estimates that more than 400,000 Missourians do not have reliable internet access. The American Rescue Plan passed by Congress earlier this year includes giving 16.9-million dollars to Buchanan County in northwest Missouri. Presiding Commissioner Lee Sawyer says at the forefront of his and his commissioner’s minds are using the […]
Governor Parson makes appointments to House and Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commissions
Governor Mike Parson announced 40 appointments to the House and Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commissions. On April 26, 2021, the United States Census Bureau delivered the 2020 Census Apportionment Results to the President of the United States. Consistent with the Missouri Constitution, this started the 60-day window for the Democrat and Republican state and congressional […]
Sara Walsh joins growing field in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District
(Missouri Independent) – A crowded Republican primary is emerging in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, a solidly GOP seat that is also the only one of the state’s eight districts certain to have a new lawmaker at the end of 2022. State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, on Wednesday became the latest candidate to enter the race […]
Groups say postal reform Bill would benefit rural Missouri
Supporters of the U.S. Postal Service are pressing for passage of a bill to shore up the troubled agency. Twin versions of the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act of 2021 are winding their way through committees in the U.S. House and Senate. John McHugh, a former congressman from New York who served as Secretary of the Army until […]
Missourians need to make their voices heard about the future of the farm and food system
This article is a commentary. The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Tim Gibbons, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, management, or staff. (Missouri Independent) – Missouri Rural Crisis Center recently sent in comments to the Biden Administration and USDA in response to their request […]
Graves Leads Opposition To Speaker Pelosi’s “My Way Or The Highway” 2.0 Bill
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO), the Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led conservatives on the floor of the United States House of Representatives today in opposing H.R. 3684. “This bill is nothing more than the Green New Deal with a little infrastructure sprinkled on top,” said Graves. “It’s completely unpaid for and it does nothing […]