The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $20 million in available grant funding to assist communities and schools with removing sources of lead in drinking water. This grant funding, and additional funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help make rapid progress on the goal of addressing lead and removing lead pipes across the country. “A […]
Tag: country
Experts say federal funds for lead pipe replacement needed in Missouri
Missouri has roughly 330,000 lead service lines, the pipes connecting water mains to buildings including people’s homes, and federal funding could help speed up the process of removing and replacing them. The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year includes $15 billion for lead-pipe replacement, building on funds from the American Rescue Plan. Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director at […]
Misinformation fuels false belief that Missouri COVID death figures are being inflated
(Missouri Independent) – On a recent Tuesday evening in southeastern Missouri, John Freeze stood in front of yet another angry group of constituents. Some here believe the number of COVID-19 deaths are being purposefully inflated for financial gain. Among the culprits, in their mistaken view: Hospitals seeking Medicare reimbursements; The federal government, led by Dr. Anthony […]
U.S. House hearing on extremism toward minorities turns into ‘defund the police’ debate
(Missouri Independent) – Leaders of faith organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities told members of a U.S. House panel on Thursday how their institutions and places of worship have been roiled by bomb threats and extremism. They talked about the recent waves of bomb threats aimed at HBCUs, a terrifying hostage-taking at a Texas […]
U.S. Department of Justice sues Missouri over law blocking enforcement of federal gun regulations
(Missouri Independent) – A controversial Missouri gun law that penalizes police for enforcing federal gun laws is facing a new legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department. On Wednesday, the department filed suit to prevent Missouri from enforcing its Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), a law that allows citizens to file suit for up to […]
KTTN/KGOZ Sports Director inducted into North Central Missouri College Hall of Fame
KTTN/KGOZ Sports Director Tom Johnson was inducted into the North Central Missouri College Hall of Fame on February 15, 2022. The induction ceremony took place during halftime of the Lady Pirates basketball game against Missouri Valley College. Rick Cole with Pirates Digital Media interviewed Johnson and asked what his initial thoughts were about being inducted […]
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 […]
Audio: Missouri bill targets smash-and-grab thieves
Mobs of thieves have hit up retailers around the country recently by quickly raiding stores and taking off with piles of merchandise in a matter of minutes. State Representative Lane Roberts, a Republican from southwest Missouri’s Joplin, is sponsoring a bill meant to address these organized theft crime rings, such as so-called smash-and-grab crimes. A […]
Missouri bill to prevent hair discrimination advances on eve of Black History Month
(Missouri Independent) – As a young girl, state Rep. Raychel Proudie remembers when the beads in her hair would clap together as she walked. Her teachers would call it a “distraction” — the same way they did when her hair was “too high.” “You would come home and tell your mom, or she would get […]
CDC preps guidance for governors on relaxing COVID rules, but states forge ahead
(Missouri Independent) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing guidance for governors about when to relax masking and other measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 but doesn’t want to release those instructions just yet. Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that it’s too soon to begin rolling backmasking and other public […]
Missouri Attorney General opposes new Waters of the U.S. rule
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with 23 other states, submitted a comment to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and the Army Corps of Engineers opposing the Biden Administration’s proposed rule that would revise the Waters of the United States rule and subject Missouri’s farmers and ranchers to strict government regulation. “Missouri’s farmers and […]
United States Department of Agriculture pledges $1B for ‘climate smart’ ag products
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to spend up to $1 billion to foster the creation of climate-friendly agricultural and forestry products by offering grants to facilitate their production and the markets to sell them. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon in those industries. “Agriculture is such […]
U.S. House advances marijuana banking bill, though final passage uncertain
(Missouri Independent) – Cannabis dispensaries throughout the country came one step closer to using banks the way many other businesses can when the U.S. House on Friday cleared a bill with sweeping changes to banking regulations. Colorado Democrat Ed Perlmutter and Ohio Republican Dave Joyce, co-sponsors of the legislation, said Friday their proposal would allow […]
Bankruptcy of failed Moberly factory project nears end after 10 years in court
(Missouri Independent) – Unsecured creditors will get less than a nickel on the dollar for debts left by a Moberly economic development project that went bust in 2011 as Missouri lawmakers worked on a plan to finance air freight shipments from China. A final report pending before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Dow describes how $2.1 million […]
Video: Pro-Greitens PAC hits Schmitt on China in ad airing during Olympics opening ceremony
(Missouri Independent) – Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s record on China is once again coming under fire, with a political action committee supporting one of his rivals in the GOP Senate primary launching an attack ad during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics Team PAC, which was formed to support the U.S. Senate candidacy of former […]
Missouri Groups to Lawmakers: Don’t limit citizen-led ballot petitions
Some lawmakers in Jefferson City are pushing forward bills that would limit citizens’ ability to put constitutional amendments on the ballot. The proposed legislation would double the number of signatures required to get on the ballot and raise the thresholds to pass them from a majority to two-thirds. Benjamin Singer, CEO of the group Show-Me Integrity, noted […]
Graves leads call to fully fund Lake City Army ammunition plant in Independence
Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) led a letter urging House and Senate Defense Appropriations Committee Leaders to fully fund the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in the final appropriations bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. “Cutting funding for the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant would be devastating not just for our communities, but our country,” […]
Congress clashes over climate in early farm bill talks
(Missouri Independent) – Congressional Democrats on Wednesday touted conservation programs for farmers and ranchers as key tools for limiting agriculture’s impact on the global climate as they took initial steps to create the next farm bill. One Republican’s response: So what? “We’ve talked primarily about climate change, and I gotta to be honest with you,” […]
Blunt and colleagues raise concerns with new broadband rule
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) released a letter he sent with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) and nine of their colleagues to raise concerns with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen regarding the recently-announced final rule for broadband infrastructure funding through the Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Funds, and to urge the secretary to ensure broadband funding focuses on […]
North Central Missouri College to host blood drive
North Central Missouri College Student Senate in partner with Community Blood Center will be hosting a blood drive on the NCMC campus on February 9 from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Sugg Room of the Ketcham Community Center, 1322 Mable Street. The drive is open to all students, staff, and the public. No appointment is […]