The North Mercer R-3 Board of Education approved items related to the salary schedule on March 8th. Seven hundred fifty dollars was added to the base salary schedule, and each teacher will receive steps on the salary schedule. After the increase, North Mercer’s base salary will be $30,250. Other personnel will receive a two-point-five percent […]
Trenton city sales tax receipts are up more than six percent for general purposes, capital projects, and parks in the first eleven months of Trenton’s current fiscal year, compared to the same months a year ago, May through March. Income from the city sales tax for fire department needs is up nearly eight percent, and […]
Missouri expects to spend roughly 12.4 million dollars during the current and next state budget years to fight legal battles involving the state’s new medical marijuana program. That is money that could be going to help veterans, as spelled out in the ballot measure voters passed in 2018. During a House Budget Committee hearing, the […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt led a coalition of 12 states in filing suit against President Joe Biden’s administration over a massive expansion of federal regulations through executive order, potentially impacting nearly every aspect of the economy and Missouri household. “Manufacturing, agriculture, and energy production are essential to Missouri’s economy and employ thousands of hard-working […]
The Missouri Department of Agriculture issued a consumer alert to advise Missourians that the Corn Xpress Bulk Corn Vending Machine is not-legal-for-trade in the state of Missouri. The machine is advertised as an agricultural vending machine that can dispense products such as corn, wheat, protein pellets, and rock salt. The Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Weights, […]
Current state law allows orders of protection for one year – potentially forcing domestic violence victims to repeatedly return to court and face their abuser. Joplin Republican Representative Lane Roberts says that is wrong. During a state House committee hearing, Roberts, a former Missouri Public Safety Department director, says he wants to change the law […]
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) released the following statement today after voting against Democrats’ nearly $2 trillion budget reconciliation bill. The far-reaching legislation includes $1,400 stimulus checks, $300-per-week jobless benefits through the summer, a child allowance of up to $3,600 for one year, $350 billion for state aid, $34 billion to expand the Affordable Care Act subsidies, and $14 billion for vaccine distribution. […]
Missourians who were mistakenly paid coronavirus unemployment benefits might not have to return the federal portion, but they still might owe the state’s share. The Missouri House has passed a bill affecting roughly 46-thousand Missourians who received the benefits in error and have been told by the state to pay up. During debate, Nixa Republican […]
The Trenton Park Board on March 3rd approved a bid for tree stump removal as well as actions involving the Van Meter shelter house and the swimming pool. The 2021-2022 budget was also reviewed. The approved stump removal bid was from Perkins Dozing of Jamesport for $200 per stump. Another bid was submitted from Custom […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. A new public service announcement aims to raise awareness that DEA will never phone demanding money or asking for personal information. There are variations […]
Legislation to eliminate Missouri’s presidential preference primary has been heard in a House committee in Jefferson City. The bill is sponsored by State Representative Peggy McGaugh of northwest Missouri’s Carrollton, who says it would save state taxpayers nine-million dollars. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft supports McGaugh’s proposal. Missouri has used the presidential preference […]
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) have introduced a measure to permanently extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC), which has created jobs and driven investment in neighborhoods with high poverty and unemployment rates. The New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act (S.456) will permanently authorize a 39 percent federal tax credit for […]
One year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, people have stepped up to address the emotional needs of families reeling from the coronavirus and 2020’s record-breaking disasters. For nearly 80 years, U.S. presidents have proclaimed March as Red Cross Month to recognize people giving back through its lifesaving mission — which is […]
The Missouri Public Defender System has a waiting list of about 2,000 low-income people requesting legal services. Governor Parson’s next state budget proposal attempts to reduce that list by requesting 1.1 million dollars to hire 16 extra attorneys. During a House Budget Committee hearing this week, Director Mary Fox says the office’s caseload is growing […]
A one-point-nine-trillion-dollar pandemic relief package heads to the U-S Senate after approval by the Democratic-controlled U.S. House. The plan featuring $1,400 stimulus checks passed early Saturday with no Republican support. Missouri GOP Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says it’s “serving as an excuse to spend our tax money on unnecessary things completely unrelated to the […]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced a plan to require companies with revenues of $1 billion or more to pay their employees $15 per hour. Senator Hawley’s plan would result in an immediate wage increase for millions of workers while avoiding a one-size-fits-all increase that would disadvantage small businesses. Small business employees earning less than […]
(Missouri Independent) – The eyes of the nation turned to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley over the holidays when he became the first senator to announce an objection to the certification of presidential electors. But the eyes of local politicos turned instead to his home-state colleague, Missouri’s senior senator. How would Roy Blunt — up for […]
There is bipartisan support for legislation ensuring that Missourians cannot be taxed on their federal stimulus checks. Missouri House Budget Committee chairman Cody Smith of Carthage presented his bill Wednesday in Jefferson City, Smith tells lawmakers it’s important to act, noting that under Missouri’s tax code, federal stimulus checks related to COVID are […]
The House moved to ban the use of eminent domain for a large wind-energy power line planned to span from Kansas to Indiana. In a voice vote on Tuesday, lawmakers approved legislation that would prevent the use of private land for the Grain Belt Express power line without property owners’ permission. The high-voltage […]
(Missouri Independent) – Last spring, as Missouri businesses shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, Gov. Mike Parson warned that the state was headed for the worst financial crunch since the 2008 recession. Ten months later, Parson presented a budget plan that anticipates a $1.1 billion surplus on July 1, the biggest in state history. And if the $1.9 trillion pandemic […]
