(Missouri Independent) – On the Friday before a drawn-out confirmation battle ended with his ouster from office, Missouri state Health Director Donald Kauerauf wrote an impassioned letter meant to convince conservative legislators who were on the fence about his appointment. The message: While he believed in vaccines and data and science, he didn’t believe in vaccine […]
Tag: determine
Two women, former federal correctional officers, plead guilty to bribery and contraband smuggling scheme
Two former correctional officers pleaded guilty to engaging in bribery and smuggling contraband into Leavenworth Detention Center. According to court documents, Jacqueline Sifuentes, 26, of Laredo, Texas, and Cheyonte Harris, 29, of Raytown, Missouri, previously worked as correctional officers at Leavenworth Detention Center, a privately-run maximum-security federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. Sifuentes used her position […]
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 […]
Laredo Board of Education adopts school calendar for next year; will coop junior high track
The Laredo R-7 Board of Education on February 14th approved a school calendar for 2022-2023. The first day of school will be August 23rd, and the last day of school is scheduled for May 10th, 2023. A contract was approved with Troyer Roofing and Coating to replace the roof. No amount has yet been determined […]
North Mercer Board of Education adopts 2022-2023 calendar; district will switch insurance companies
The North Mercer R-3 Board of Education adopted a 2022-2023 school calendar on February 14th. The start date will be August 23rd, and the last day of school is scheduled for May 17th, 2023. North Mercer has decided to switch insurance companies effective March 1st. Missouri United Educators Health Plan will provide services until July […]
Fire destroys barn at rural Galt address
Fire late Saturday afternoon destroyed a barn at 662 Northeast 45th Street in rural Galt. According to Assistant Chief Brian Smiley of the Galt Fire Protection District, approximately 200 bales of hay, one lamb, and two ewes were also lost. A nearby metal barn, which was approximately ten to fifteen feet from the barn that […]
Medical director convicted in $110 million addiction treatment fraud scheme
A federal jury convicted a Florida doctor in the Southern District of Florida for a health care fraud scheme that billed private health insurance companies approximately $110 million for addiction treatment services that were not medically necessary. This is the second trial conviction to arise out of the Justice Department’s Sober Homes Initiative. According to […]
Federal charges filed against Missouri woman linked to multiple overdose deaths
On February 8, 2022, federal charges were filed against Chuny Ann Reed, age 46. Reed is accused of the distribution of crack cocaine (cocaine base) and fentanyl. These charges were a result of an investigation that began after a series of fatal overdoses that occurred at 4451 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri on February […]
Fire at Fifth and Elm streets in Milan destroys house
A vacant house in Milan is considered a total loss after a fire early in the morning of February 8, 2022. Milan Fire Chief Rick Gardner reports the fire at Fifth and Elm streets was reported around midnight, and the house was fully involved in flames before the fire department arrived on the scene. The […]
Missouri Supreme Court: Medical marijuana application info must be disclosed in appeals
(Missouri Independent) – In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a lower court was justified in ordering the state health department to disclose medical marijuana application info that it had argued was confidential. The Department of Health and Senior Services refused to provide applications of businesses that were awarded licenses to […]
Deadline extended to enroll in 2022 Dairy Margin Coverage and Supplemental Dairy Margin coverage
USDA has extended the deadline to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage and Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for the program year 2022. The deadline to apply for 2022 coverage is now March 25, 2022. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to support dairy farmers and rural communities, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened DMC […]
House committee scales back governor’s pay raise plan for Missouri state workers
(Missouri Independent) – Hundreds of custodians, clerks, and cooks working for state agencies would not get the raises Missouri Gov. Mike Parson promised in December under a spending bill approved Monday by the House Budget Committee. On a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposed, the committee approved a spending bill that sets […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl
United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk accepted a plea of guilty from Jarvis L. Fields for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Fields in December 2020. Judge Pitlyk set sentencing for May 3, 2022. According to the plea agreement, on April 10, […]
Missouri AG files suit against Biden Administration for unlawful reinstatement of ineffective Central American Minors Refugee Program
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with seven other attorneys general, filed suit against the Biden Administration for their unlawful reinstatement of the ineffective Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee and Parole Program. The lawsuit alleges that illegal aliens with pending asylum claims can petition the government through the CAM Program to allow their minor children […]
Fire damages home on Crowder Road in Trenton
A fire early Saturday evening caused extensive damage to a vacant house at 213 East Crowder Road in Trenton. Firefighters from the Trenton and Grundy County rural departments arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the two-story structure, and a downstairs front room was fully involved in flames. Grundy County Rural Fire Chief Kenny Roberts […]
Reversing state’s decision, Missouri panel awards marijuana license to jilted applicant
(Missouri Independent) – In a rare move, a Missouri commission granted a medical marijuana license to an applicant after discovering irregularities with how state regulators evaluated applications. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) decided to forgo appealing the ruling, announcing Tuesday that it had reached a settlement with the jilted applicant to […]
USDA urges producers to submit applications for 2021 grazing loss assistance by January 31
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds ranchers and livestock producers that they may be eligible for financial assistance through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) for 2021 grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. The deadline to apply for 2021 LFP assistance is Jan. 31, 2022. “Ongoing, widespread drought conditions have resulted in significant financial losses […]
Trenton Fire Department responds to vacant house on Chestnut Street in Trenton
A fire damaged a vacant house at 1429 Chestnut in Trenton on Tuesday morning, January 25, 2022. Trenton Fire Department Lieutenant Jeremy Summers reports there was heavy smoke and fire damage to the attic, heavy smoke damage to the entire house, and moderate fire damage to the kitchen. Summers says off-duty Firefighter Dustin Whorton noticed […]
Judge sentences Missouri woman to 3 years in prison for Medicare and Medicaid fraud
A Missouri woman previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and ordered to pay $7,520,779.00 in restitution. Brandy McKay, 42, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri appeared before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on January 18, 2022. According to the plea agreement, between 2017 and 2019, McKay owned or managed multiple […]