The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in counterfeit pills that are mass-produced by criminal […]
Tag: crisis
‘A nightmare’: Missouri schools adapt as labor shortages upend school meal supply chain
(Missouri Independent) – Shawndra Taylor had just 12 hours notice when the first truck canceled. The truck contained food to help prepare the 3,000 meals served each day in her school district in Eldon — including items she needed to make dinner for students. Her supplier, Kohl Wholesale in Quincy, Illinois, was too short-staffed. Taylor, […]
Missouri Attorney General seeks court order to force Biden Administration to reimplement the “Remain in Mexico” policy
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a motion to enforce a permanent injunction and for expedited discovery, which seeks a court order from the District Court to compel the Biden Administration to reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols, or “Remain in Mexico” Policy. “We sued the Biden Administration in April over their cancellation of the […]
Department of Justice announces Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grants awarded to Missouri in 2021
The Department of Justice announced that the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the department’s Office of Justice Programs, has awarded almost $187 million to support state, local, and tribal public safety and community justice activities. The awards, from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, are going to all 50 states, […]
Advocates press for action in Congress on voting rights, despite grim outlook
(Missouri Independent) – Activists are ramping up the pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to move on his chamber’s version of a voting rights bill, even though there’s no sign there will be enough Republican support to advance it. Alternatively, they’re pressing for an end to the filibuster, though there’s no indication there would […]
Federal court hears arguments on Missouri abortion ban with no rape, incest exception
(Missouri Independent) – The fate of Missouri’s ban on abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, with no exception for rape or incest, rests in the hands of a panel of federal judges. Arguments Tuesday before the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, and questions from the judges, focused almost exclusively on another provision […]
Spickard R-2 Board of Education addresses a number of issues at Monday meeting
The Spickard R-2 Board of Education on September 20, 2021, approved changing the custodian position from part-time to full-time. Paula Fagan was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board. Superintendent Erica Eakes reports the term will go until the election in April. Fagan was the only applicant for the position. Eakes says the position was […]
Missouri Attorney General Files Brief in support of Texas lawsuit that allows migrants to be expelled
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief in support of Texas’ lawsuit against the Biden Administration over their proposed exceptions to the Title 42 program. Title 42 is a President Trump-era rule that allows for the federal government to expel migrants who are immigrating from a country where communicable disease is or was present. […]
Report: Missouri receives failing grade for handling of COVID-19 in prisons
(Missouri News Service) – One out of every three people incarcerated in the United States has contracted COVID-19, and a new report shows how state prison systems – including in Missouri – have failed to properly handle the public-health crisis. The Prison Policy Initiative report evaluates how corrections departments have responded in four areas: limiting the […]
Missouri Governor condemns Biden’s vaccine mandate, vows legal fight against federal overreach
Governor Mike Parson announced that his administration will reject the Biden Administration’s attempt to enforce an unconstitutional, federal vaccine mandate for Missourians and private businesses. The Office of the Governor has been in communication with leadership from the Missouri General Assembly and the Attorney General’s Office to align resources for a pending legal fight. “This […]
Wright Memorial Hospital’s Senior Life Solutions speaks about the importance of talking about suicide
September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness month. Wright Memorial Hospital’s Senior Life Solutions program is working to raise awareness and educate the community on the risk factors and warning signs of suicide. Talk of suicide should never be dismissed. If you, or someone you know, are thinking of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention […]
Audio: Lack of funding prevents Missouri from helping thousands of rape victims
In 2020, nearly 15,000-thousand victims asked a Missouri rape crisis center for help. During a statewide task force online listening session last week, members found out about 8,000 of those victims were turned away due to a lack of funding. Creve Coeur State Senator Jill Schupp, a member of the task force, says members want […]
Governor Parson ends existing State of Emergency by terminating Executive Order 2002
Governor Mike Parson terminated Executive Order 2002 ending the State of Emergency that had been in effect since March 13, 2020. “In the nearly 18 months we operated under this Executive Order, we have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing unprecedented levels of resources and support,” Governor Parson said. “This Order enabled us to respond to the […]
Missouri and Texas Attorney Generals prevail at Supreme Court in “Remain in Mexico” Case
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office have prevailed over the Biden Administration for a 3rd time in their lawsuit over the “Remain in Mexico” policy as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Missouri and Texas in a 6-3 denial of the Department of Justice’s appeal for an emergency stay. […]
Livingston County Deputies respond to call of man jumping from a moving van and a call about a partially nude man
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reports his office responded to calls involving a man who allegedly jumped from a moving van north of the Chillicothe Correctional Center the afternoon of August 24. He says dispatch received a call from a woman reporting her adult grandson jumped from the van and walked into a field. The […]
Graves votes against $3.5 trillion spending spree
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) released the following statement after voting against S.Con.Res. 14, which paves the way for liberals to ram through their $3.5 trillion spending spree without any Republican support. “We’ve got a crisis in Afghanistan, a crisis at the border, an inflation crisis right here at home, and this bill does nothing to […]
USDA accepts 2.8 million acres for the Conservation Reserve Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the Conservation Reserve Program in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment […]
Biden mandates nursing homes require COVID vaccine or lose Medicare, Medicaid funds
(Missouri Independent) – Nursing homes will be required to ensure their staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing federal Medicare and Medicaid dollars, the Biden administration announced Wednesday in a major move on vaccinations as the Delta variant sweeps many states. Under the new nursing home policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
Highway Patrol provides a summary of new laws related to public safety, transportation, watercraft, & protection of children
The abbreviated descriptions below are intended to make the public aware of some of the new legislation enacted by the Missouri General Assembly, which is related to crime and motor vehicles. The listed legislation has been signed into law. Unless otherwise noted, these laws will go into effect on August 28, 2021. SB 26 PROVISIONS […]