DISCLAIMER: This article is a commentary. The statements and opinions contained in the article are those of the author, Tim Gibbons. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, staff, management, or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – Last month, Missouri Rural Crisis Center held a telephone town […]
Tag: crisis
Evergy to shutter Kansas coal plant, speed transition to renewable energy
(Missouri Independent) – Evergy, an electric supplier to about 600,000 customers in western Missouri, will retire its coal power plant in Lawrence, Kansas, by the end of 2023, the company announced on Friday. The utility revealed its plan to regulators in a filing with the Missouri Public Service Commission. The “integrated resource plan” lays out Evergy’s next […]
Governor Parson announces changes to LIHEAP program to assist more Missourians in paying energy bills
Governor Mike Parson announced that the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Energy Assistance (EA) Program is extending one-time primary heating bill payments through May 31, 2021. In addition, eligibility for both the heating and cooling programs are expanding from Missouri households with incomes up to 135 percent of the Federal Poverty Level to include Missouri households […]
Justice Department releases $58 million in solicitations to combat the distribution of illicit drugs and improve officer wellness
The Justice Department announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released approximately $58 million in three grant solicitations that will advance community policing, help combat the dual scourges of opioid and methamphetamine use, and promote the health and safety of our nation’s law enforcement officers. “The grant solicitations announced will […]
USDA expands and renews Conservation Reserve Program in effort to boost enrollment and address climate change
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program with higher payment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership Program […]
Governor Mike Parson signs HB 429 and HB 430 into law supporting Missouri adoptive families and children in foster care
Governor Mike Parson signed HB 429 and HB 430 into law, which both supports Missouri adoptive families and children in foster care. “Every child deserves a family to provide love, support, and a strong foundation,” Governor Parson said. “Missourians who take on this role as foster and adoptive parents are invaluable to the children of our state, […]
MU Extension to offer free 1-hour suicide prevention class
An hour of your time could save a life as the University of Missouri Extension will offer free one-hour suicide prevention training sessions online in April and May. QPR Gatekeeper Training helps participants “question, persuade and refer” someone who may be suicidal, says MU Extension health and safety specialist Karen Funkenbusch. QPR was created in […]
Missouri Attorney General files suit against Biden administration to reinstate Migrant Protection Protocols enacted by Trump
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, and several other members of President Biden’s administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) enacted by President Trump and work toward combating migrant trafficking, securing the border, and ending the border […]
State of Missouri establishes weekly COVID-19 testing event schedule
Testing has been a pillar of the State’s response to COVID-19 for the past year. The increasingly widespread availability of testing resources and available laboratories made it possible for the State of Missouri to host intermittent testing events in communities throughout the state to provide greater accessibility to testing options and to learn more about […]
Audio: Northwest Missouri Senator works to exempt stimulus payments from state income tax
A northwest Missouri state senator who worked to exempt federal stimulus payments from state income tax last year will work to keep the state’s hands off the latest round of checks. Senator Tony Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Parkville, says the state should not be taxing checks meant to help people during a time of crisis. […]
Audio: Former Governor Greitens counting on southeast Missouri for GOP Senate nomination
Former Governor Eric Greitens says he’ll need the support of southeast Missouri to win the GOP U-S Senate nomination next year. That region was crucial to Greitens’ upset win in the 2016 gubernatorial race against Democrat Chris Koster: Greitens spoke to Missourinet Cape Girardeau television partner KFVS. Greitens and Attorney General Eric Schmitt […]
Hawley calls for Biden to extend freeze on foreign worker visas
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to extend President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing visas for certain temporary foreign workers, which will expire today, March 31, 2021, unless President Biden acts. Senator Hawley writes that the temporary freeze, issued to protect American workers during the pandemic, should be extended […]
Audio: Missouri Senate gives preliminary approval to requiring a prescription drug monitoring program
Missouri is another step closer to getting a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. The state Senate has given initial approval to Senator Holly Rehder’s nine-year quest to require a centralized database to help the medical community look for cases of suspected misuse of painkillers. Lake St. Louis Senator Bob Onder, a fellow Republican, […]
Audio: Southern Missouri Congressman Jason Smith considering Senate run; criticizes Biden on border wall suspension
A southern Missouri congressman who serves as the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee says he’s considering a run for the U-S Senate in 2022. Salem Congressman Jason Smith spoke to Missourinet Monday (last) evening in Jefferson City, outside the Statehouse: Former Governor Eric Greitens and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, both Republicans, […]
Highway Patrol corporal named Missouri State Employee of the Month for unique handling of traffic stop
Jeffrey W. Huff, a corporal in the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop A, has been named Missouri State Employee of the Month for March for the care and compassion he demonstrated while responding to a teenager experiencing suicidal thoughts. Huff became eligible for the state recognition after being named Department of Public Safety Sworn Employee […]
Lawmakers introduce legislation to protect rural health clinics from added financial strain during COVID-19 crisis
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Mark Warner (Va.) introduced legislation to prevent further financial instability for rural health clinics and safeguard the care they provide to underserved communities. The bipartisan Strengthening Rural Health Clinics Act of 2021 would make a technical fix to protect existing rural health clinics from a sudden and unexpected Medicare […]
Biden calls on U.S. Senate to act on background checks after Colorado mass shooting
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged the U.S. Senate to immediately pass legislation to close loopholes on background checks for guns and to ban assault weapons, following a mass shooting that killed 10 at a Colorado supermarket. “This should not be a partisan issue,” Biden said. “This is an American issue.” Biden’s […]
Chillicothe Police Department responds to suicidal person and work traffic crash
The Chillicothe Police Department report for March 18th included an individual said to be suicidal and a two-vehicle accident. Assistant Police Chief Rick Sampsel reports the police were contacted in the morning in reference to a suicidal woman in the 900 block of Dickinson Street who was agitated and known to be aggressive. Police Chief […]
Lawmakers say President Biden is escalating border crisis by unlawfully freezing border wall funding
Amid the rapidly escalating crisis along the southern border, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and dozens of his colleagues joined U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, in sending a letter to Government Accountability Office Comptroller Gene L. Dodaro highlighting President Joe Biden’s suspension of border wall […]