President Joe Biden Photo Courtesy of the White House

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 […]

Virtual Job Fair

Audio: Virtual Job Fair, focusing on manufacturing, to be held on Tuesday, March 23, 2021

A Tuesday Virtual Job Fair will feature job openings in manufacturing.     The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development, in partnership with the Missouri Association of Manufacturers, will host a Return Strong Virtual Job Fair on Tuesday.  The fair will feature job openings exclusively from manufacturing companies across the state. The virtual […]

Trenton Downtown Improvement Association (TDIA)

Trenton Rotary Club presented program on Trenton Downtown Improvement Association

Trenton’s Downtown Improvement Association is observing its 30th year of existence. The executive director for the association, Megan Taul, discussed accomplishments and upcoming TDIA and Main Street Trenton events. In speaking at a Trenton Rotary Club meeting, Mrs. Taul reported: “Food Truck Days” held in 2019 resulted in Uprooted Kitchen locating a restaurant at five […]

Gary Downs

Osborn man charged with murder in relation to Sheriff Andy Clark’s death, bound over to Division One of DeKalb County Circuit Court

An Osborn man charged with second-degree murder in relation to a motor vehicle accident that caused DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Clark’s death had his case bound over to Division One of DeKalb County Circuit Court on Thursday.  An arraignment is scheduled for 35-year-old Gary Wayne Downs on April 9th. Downs was also charged with the […]

Boyd and Stefanie Householder Booking Photo

Audio: Circle of Hope owners in Missouri, charged with 102 felonies, plead “NOT guilty” in court appearance

The owners of the now-defunct Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in southwest Missouri’s Humansville remain jailed without bond on Thursday morning, after pleading NOT guilty in Cedar County Court. Boyd and Stephanie Householder are from Nevada, near Humansville. Attorney General Eric Schmitt had to stop speaking at one point during his Wednesday press conference, to […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

Missouri unemployment rate drops to 4.3% in January, 2021, down from 4.4% in December, 2020

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased in January 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 5,900 jobs over the month, but over-the-year job losses were back above 100,000 following benchmark adjustments to 2020 estimates. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent […]

Drug Cartels

Senator Hawley along with lawmakers from Arkansas, Tennessee and Nebraska introduce bill imposing sanctions on drug cartels

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) introduced the Significant Transnational Criminal Organization Designation Act, legislation that would subject certain foreign criminal organizations like drug cartels to sanctions, including immigration, financial, and criminal penalties. The process would be similar to the system used for designating entities as […]

Crop Insurance

New option to crop insurance farmers need to consider

As grain prices hit new levels, farmers are considering potential profit in preparing for the 2021 growing season. However, protection is always going to be important. Crop insurance decisions will be critical this year. Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois agricultural economics professor, said 93% of Illinois farmers took some form of Revenue Protection (RP) insurance […]

Trenton R-9 School District

Trenton Board of Education tackles huge agenda including approval of salary schedule for next school year

The Trenton R-9 Board of Education March 9th approved salary schedules for the 2021-2022 school year. One thousand dollars will be added to the base for the certified salary schedule, making the base salary $34,000. This was estimated to cost the district $119,591. Superintendent Mike Stegman noted the base salary for certified staff was “pretty […]