Audit Graphic

Missouri State Auditor gives Clay County Commission’s office rating of “Poor”; details how commissioners obstructed audit process

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued her office’s audit of the Clay County Commission, which was initiated by a citizen petition in 2018. The report follows repeated but ultimately unsuccessful efforts by former county commissioners to impede the completion of the audit. The report, which gave a rating of “poor” – the lowest possible […]

Grundy County R-5 School District website

Grundy R-5 Board of Education approves senior trip; approve sophomores attending prom

The Grundy County R-5 Board of Education on February 16th approved allowing sophomores to attend prom. The high school building was approved for after-prom activities. A senior trip was approved to take place May 16th through 19th. Daya Allnutt was chosen as the district representative for the Jack Holley/Missouri Unified School Insurance Council Scholarship Program. […]

USDA US Department of Agriculture

Agricultural producers have until March 15 to enroll in USDA’s Key Commodity Safety Net Programs

Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year have until March 15, 2022, to sign a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers these two safety net programs to provide vital income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in […]

Scam Graphic

Missouri man allegedly scams investors in hazardous and medical waste company

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division issued an order to show cause why civil penalties, restitution, costs, and other administrative relief should not be imposed against Steri Med Solutions LLC and David Edward Fenton, DVM. Between November 1, 2014, and January 31, 2016, Fenton, a Columbia, Missouri resident, allegedly sold more than $400,000 in […]

American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall spoke at the organization’s 2022 annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia (photo provided by American Farm Bureau Federation)

American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ

(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]

Screenshot of USDA or United States Department of Agriculture website

Deadline extended to enroll in 2022 Dairy Margin Coverage and Supplemental Dairy Margin coverage

USDA has extended the deadline to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage and Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for the program year 2022. The deadline to apply for 2022 coverage is now March 25, 2022. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to support dairy farmers and rural communities, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened DMC […]

Missouri Secretary of State website

Missouri Securities Division Partners with CFTC and 26 states to stop $68 million precious metals scheme

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division announced that it is participating in a consolidated enforcement action to stop a $68 million fraudulent precious metals scheme that, to date, has allegedly defrauded at least 450 investors nationwide, including eighteen investors from Missouri. A complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District […]

CRP Website Revised (Conservation Reserve Program website)

USDA announces Conservation Reserve Program signups for 2022

Agricultural producers and landowners can sign up soon for the Conservation Reserve Program,  a cornerstone conservation program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a key tool in the Biden-Harris Administration effort to address climate change and achieve other natural resource benefits. The General CRP signup will run from Jan. 31 to March 11, and the […]

Missouri cattle producers say more competition needed to stay profitable

Meat prices have been on the rise, but family-farm advocates say higher profits haven’t been making their way to smaller cattle producers. Four companies control 85% of the beef supply, noted Darvin Bentlage, a cattle rancher and farmer in southwest Missouri. He said the executive order on promoting competition that President Joe Biden signed last summer is a […]

Photo of Trenton High School building with the sign "Trenton High School" or THS

Trenton R-9 Board of Education announces personnel actions following closed portion of meeting

Personnel actions have been announced following Monday night’s meeting of the Trenton R-9 Board of Education. The board had met in a closed executive session. Information released this morning by Trenton R-9’s district office includes retirements, resignations, and hirings. According to the Trenton School District office, the board accepted retirement letters from Kim Foster, Chris […]

Dairy Cows

USDA opens 2022 signup for Dairy Margin Coverage program, expands program for supplemental production

As part of the ongoing efforts to support dairy farmers and rural communities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture opened signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage program and expanded the program to allow dairy producers to better protect their operations by enrolling in supplemental production. This signup period – which runs from Dec. 13, 2021, to […]

Theodore Eddings Booking Photo

Missouri man who operated guided hunting tour company ordered to repay investors

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division and Republic, Missouri resident, Theodore Jay Eddings, recently entered into a consent order to settle allegations against Eddings by the Division involving investor fraud.   In the first portion of October 2021, the Missouri Secretary of State issued a cease and desist order that required Eddings to show […]

Spire Natural Gas Company Van

Critics say Spire Missouri’s warning of natural gas outages a “manufactured crisis”

(Missouri Independent) – As federal energy regulators prepare to decide the fate of a St. Louis natural gas pipeline, Spire Missouri is warning customers their gas service could fail this winter.  Business industry groups and the utility maintain their responsibility to keep customers informed. But environmental groups and some local elected officials — who note federal regulators seem […]

Missouri Attorney General Seal and Gavel

Missouri Attorney General files motion for preliminary injunction in border wall lawsuit

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office filed a motion for preliminary injunction in their lawsuit against the Biden Administration for refusing to continue construction on the Southwest border wall. Missouri and Texas filed suit in late October to require the Biden Administration to continue construction on the border wall using […]

Josh Hawley Courtesy of Missourinet

Hawley to introduce new Parents Bill of Rights in effort to keep parents informed of what is being taught in schools

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce a new Parents Bill of Rights to turn back efforts to shut parents out of their children’s education. Senator Hawley’s bill will protect the right of parents to know what their children are being taught, who is teaching them, and which organizations are receiving school contracts. […]