Governor Mike Parson signed four additional bills into law on Tuesday afternoon. SB 36 – Capitol Complex Tax Credit: Creates a $10 million tax credit for rehabilitation or renovation of buildings in the Capitol Complex. SB 57 – Funding for Criminal Behavior Deterrence: Creates the Economic Distress Zone Fund, which provides funding to nonprofits that […]
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen approved the 2020 financial statements audit on June 28th. CPA John Gillum presented an audit report. The Friends of Gallatin fundraising event to be held on June 26th was rescheduled for July 17th due to forecasted rain. The board of aldermen agreed to grant the picnic liquor license request to […]
Niagara Bottling, LLC, a family-owned beverage manufacturer headquartered in Diamond Bar, California, announced it will invest approximately $156 million in a new production facility in Kansas City, Missouri. This new facility will initially create nearly 100 jobs. “Niagara Bottling is excited to establish a second manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Missouri,” said Brian Hess, Executive […]
The Missouri State Highway Patrol wants to remind Missourians that thunderstorms are expected to continue over the next several days, which may lead to flooding in certain areas. Flooding, especially flash flooding, is dangerous and can be fatal. Drivers and boaters are encouraged to make smart decisions. Drivers Drivers are urged to avoid […]
Fleishmann’s Yeast will sponsor a baked bread contest at the Grand River Museum in Chillicothe. Yeast, savory, and sweet bread entries will be accepted on July 10th from 8 to 11 o’clock in the morning. Judging will be at noon, and winners will be announced at 1 o’clock. A bread tasting for the public will […]
Eleven of Missouri’s largest concentrated animal feeding operations are working to reduce the state’s oversight of their hog facilities despite a record of manure spills and clean water violations. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, has 11 CAFOs seeking new state permits. The facilities, dotted across northern Missouri, combined are capable of raising more […]
The push to expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri was dealt another blow on Wednesday, as a Cole County judge ruled the voter-approved initiative was unconstitutional because it didn’t include a way to pay for 275,000 new enrollees. Plaintiffs, which include three people who would have been eligible for Medicaid on July 1 if the expansion […]
The State Auditor’s Office is notifying more than 2,800 local taxing authorities in Missouri that they no longer have the option to calculate local tax rates using a subsection of state law a recent court ruling found to be unconstitutional. The taxing authorities include local government entities such as counties, municipalities, and school and fire […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and 21 other state attorneys general wrote to congressional leaders on Monday, urging Congress to keep the Hyde Amendment in the 2022 budget. The amendment prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortions was not included in the Biden Administration’s budget. The Hyde Amendment has been included in federal budgets […]
A judge in mid-Missouri’s Cole County expects to issue his decision in Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit by tomorrow (Wednesday). Brian Hauswirth covered Monday’s hearing in Jefferson City: Three Missouri women are suing the state over the issue of Medicaid expansion. They note 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Amendment Two in August. Their […]
During a press conference at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson warned of the detrimental consequences to Missourians if the Federal Reimbursement Allowances (FRA) and related programs were not extended. The FRA and related programs provide critical funding to MO HealthNet and must be extended before cost-savings measures are needed on July 1. “If political […]
A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) has been awarded Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome by the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). This achievement, the highest possible under COCA, grants ATSU-KCOM the maximum accreditation length of 10 years. The School’s next accreditation review will be in the 2030-31 academic year. […]
(Missouri Independent) – The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and extend […]
Governor Mike Parson signed HB 271 into law, which establishes greater accountability for local leaders when imposing public health orders and prohibits local COVID-19 vaccine passports. “This legislation I am signing today requires local leaders to be more transparent in their reasoning and accountable for their decisions when it comes to public health orders,” Governor Parson said. “It […]
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorney General Eric Schmitt has determined his office cannot investigate an alleged violation of Missouri’s open records laws by the governor’s office, an interpretation of state law that has transparency advocates alarmed. Missouri’s attorney general’s office is in charge of enforcing the Sunshine Law, which requires meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations […]
Missouri’s population grew by about 11,000 people from 2019 to 2020. This 0.2% increase is only half the national rate of 0.4%, though it is typical of the modest growth experienced by many other Midwestern states. But the picture gets more complicated when you zoom in to specific regions and counties. “This growth is uneven,” […]
(Missouri Independent) – For years after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, activists and community leaders have pushed to “re-envision public safety.” Inspired in part by the Ferguson Commission, which recommended that cities focus more resources on the root causes of crime, organizers across the state echoed these calls. But they largely fell on deaf ears. […]
Starting Saturday, Missouri will no longer offer additional federal pandemic unemployment benefits. A growing number of Republican-controlled states have chosen to end the federal aid that added $300 per week. Last month, Governor Parson announced the decision because he said the extra funding is causing worker shortages among some Missouri businesses. Missouri House […]
