Dr. Alex Garza of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force

Video: ‘The virus is winning’: Health officials call for statewide mask mandate in Missouri

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson needs to issue a statewide mask mandate and “safer-at-home” policy to prevent the state’s health system from becoming overwhelmed, Dr. Alex Garza, the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said Friday. “Unfortunately, as has been painfully obvious to even a casual observer, we are […]

Childcare Center from Unsplash website

‘Won’t be able to survive’: Childcare centers serving low-income Missourians face closure

(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 […]

North Central Missouri Development Alliance or NCMDA

NCMDA board member Jackie Soptic: “Technology and internet revolutionize economic development”

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 […]

Governor Mike Parson

Missouri’s Parson ranked 13th among nation’s Governors

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s performance on economic policies has placed him among some of the top governors in the nation in a new report. In a first-of-its-kind report, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a right-wing group of lawmakers and business people, ranked Parson 13th overall among states’ governors. Report co-author Donna Arduin said Parson’s corporate […]

USDA Issues $1.68 billion in payments to producers enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing $1.68 billion in payments to agricultural producers and landowners for the 21.9 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides annual rental payment for land devoted to conservation purposes. “CRP is one of the many ‘tools’ that USDA offers to producers and private landowners to […]

Election 2020

Parson and Galloway blast each other repeatedly during Missouri gubernatorial debate

Missouri’s two major gubernatorial candidates clashed during a Friday afternoon debate in Columbia on numerous issues, including Clean Missouri, COVID, Medicaid expansion, and valet parking at the Capitol. The debate, which took place at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia, was sponsored by the Missouri Press Association. Missouri voters approved Clean Missouri in November 2018. It had […]

Great seal of Missouri and US Flag with money

Trump Administration invests more than $1 million in rural business development in Missouri

The Trump Administration, along with the Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director for Missouri Jeff Case, today announced 20 organizations statewide are being awarded a total of $1,068,984 to create jobs and increase economic opportunities throughout the state. “When rural, small businesses expand and do well, it leads to a positive impact on the […]

USDA Logo

USDA making an additional $1.4 billion available to assist ag producers impacted by COVID-19

The United States Department of Agriculture has announced it is making up to an additional $14 billion in aid available nationwide to assist agricultural producers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funding provided through the CARES Act. The application period will be open from September […]

Economy

Survey shows economy improving in Missouri and Midwest

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 […]

Republican Party news graphic

Audio: Missouri congresswoman says Republican National Convention will focus on optimism and heroes

A west-central Missouri GOP congresswoman says this week’s 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte will focus on optimism. While U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, isn’t a delegate this year, she’s excited about the convention. “And looking at the great American heroes that we have in our local communities, and how we together collectively have made this the […]