The USDA is calling for ag exports to increase by nearly eight percent for the 2021 fiscal year largely because of Chinese demand. USDA’s November ag export forecast increased by $11.5 billion from August to $152 billion. If realized it would be the second-highest export total on record with China accounting for most of the increase, […]
(Missouri Independent) – President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus response plan seeks to put a national mask mandate in place by calling on all governors to require face coverings in their states. It’s a move that public health experts say could dramatically reduce the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths. But putting wider mask laws in place […]
The Highway Patrol reports two young men with Trenton addresses were injured Monday afternoon when a pickup struck loose gravel and traveled off Harmonica Road four miles south of Princeton. The vehicle overturned and came to rest on its wheels. The driver, 18-year-old Gideon Stutzman received minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene, while […]
(Missouri Independent) – Cortaiga Collins doesn’t know how much longer her childcare center will survive. Only about a dozen children have been attending regularly amid the pandemic. Under normal circumstances, she used to serve as many as 100. She’s already had to reduce the hours that Good Shepherd Preschool and Infant/Toddler Center in St. Louis […]
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Missouri’s three-year loan default rate decreased two-tenths of a percent, keeping Missouri’s rate lower than many of its neighboring states and on par with the national rate. Missouri’s student loan default rate dropped from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent. The national rate decreased from 10.1 percent to 9.7 […]
North Central Missouri Development Alliance Board Member Jackie Soptic says technology and the internet have revolutionized economic development. Site selectors and companies can visit a location from their home or office by reading statistics and demographic information. The United States Census also provides data on demographics. Soptic says that data should be used […]
The Trenton R-9 School District reports the number of students who have had to miss school due to COVID-19 or quarantine has been on the decline. The district has reviewed measures put into place two months ago and decided to eliminate daily temperature checks for students, staff, and visitors entering the premises. Trenton R-9 has […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office dismissed accusations that his office and the state department of health illegally concealed records and violated the Sunshine Law during the course of a medical marijuana lawsuit, calling the charges “frivolous” and “baseless.” The accusation arose last week in a motion seeking sanctions against Schmitt’s office and […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri family that sued after being denied a medical marijuana license is alleging the state department of health and Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office illegally concealed documents and violated open records laws in order to undercut their lawsuit. The allegations — which are included in a 28-page motion seeking sanctions against […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway made a stop in southwest Missouri’s Joplin Monday afternoon. Galloway, a Democrat who is running for governor, criticized her opponent, Republican Governor Mike Parson, about his stance on making Missouri a right-to-work state. In 2018, voters overwhelmingly opposed passing such a law that would ban mandatory union fees in the workplace. […]
The number of active COVID-19 cases has declined in Grundy County. The health department reports 40 cases are active, which is a decrease of eight since Monday, October 19th. The total number of cases increased by five to 320 with two hundred thirty-three cases confirmed, and 87 cases probable. Thirteen COVID-19-related deaths have been reported […]
Agricultural producers can now make elections and enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2021 crop year. The signup period opened Tuesday, Oct. 13. These key U.S. Department of Agriculture safety-net programs help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops, and more than $5 billion […]
Remedial education rates continue to decline at Missouri’s public colleges and universities, potentially reducing the amount of time and money it takes for many students to earn a degree. The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development recently published its Annual Report on the Condition of College and Career Readiness, showing the number of […]
U.S. Attorney General William Barr has announced in St. Louis that a federal operation has led to the arrests of more than 650 suspects – 34 of which are accused of murder. The federal effort, called Operation Legend, is named after a four-year-old Kansas City boy killed over the summer while sleeping. The St. Louis […]
The Missouri labor market’s recovery resumed in September 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 13,000 jobs over the month, and over-the-year job losses from COVID-19 shutdowns dropped below 125,000. Missouri’s smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went down by 2.1 percentage points in September 2020, decreasing to 4.9 percent from an August 2020 rate of 7.0 […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications for the Dairy Margin Coverage program on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, for 2021 enrollment. “This year has been a market roller coaster for the dairy industry, and the Dairy Margin Coverage program is a valuable tool dairy producers can use to manage risk,” said Bill Northey, USDA’s Under […]
State health officials say Missouri’s COVID-19 hotline will reduce its hours, starting in October. The hotline has seen a decline in overnight call volume. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) established a statewide public hotline on March 11, four days after Missouri’s first case was confirmed. More than 112,000 calls have come […]
Missouri has had 28 charter schools close since 2005, mostly due to poor performance. Charter schools are funded through a mix of state and private dollars and operate independently of traditional public schools. During a Missouri Board of Education meeting, member Carol Hallquist of Kansas City says a group of urban leaders told her the […]
The Grundy County Health Department reports the active count of COVID-19 went down for the county Friday, September 18th, as more cases were released from isolation than were added as new. There are 52 active cases. The overall total is 181, which is an increase of four. One hundred fifty-two of the total cases have […]
The economic picture is brightening for both Missouri and the Midwest. Creighton University’s August survey of supply managers and business leaders across the nine-state region finds the financial situation slowly improving. Economist Ernie Goss of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska says the survey’s leading economic indicator for the region climbed. “The index from that survey […]
