Following recent announcements from the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, certain immunocompromised individuals can begin receiving third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri. A third dose of the PfizerNBioTech or Moderna vaccines may be administered to moderately to severely immunocompromised people due to a medical condition […]
Tag: effect
Highway Patrol provides a summary of new laws related to public safety, transportation, watercraft, & protection of children
The abbreviated descriptions below are intended to make the public aware of some of the new legislation enacted by the Missouri General Assembly, which is related to crime and motor vehicles. The listed legislation has been signed into law. Unless otherwise noted, these laws will go into effect on August 28, 2021. SB 26 PROVISIONS […]
Missouri unemployment rate drops to 4.2 percent in July
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from June 2021 to July 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 15,000 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in July […]
Commentary: As schools reopen, an epidemiologist on what works — and what’s not worth the effort
This article is a commentary, the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, Doctor Brandon Guthrie, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of KTTN/KGOZ radio, the staff, management, and webmaster. Dr. Brandon Guthrie is an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Washington. His specific research […]
AARP calls for vaccine mandates as COVID re-enters Missouri nursing homes
(Missouri Indepentent) – With cases on the rise among both residents and staff, the nation’s leading advocacy group for retirees is calling on nursing homes to mandate COVID-19 vaccines. The number of COVID-19 cases reported each week in Kansas and Missouri nursing homes is rising again for the first time in months. Missouri, where weekly […]
Missouri Attorney General scores massive win in “Remain in Mexico” lawsuit
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office, along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office have prevailed in their lawsuit against the Biden Administration over President Biden’s cancellation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or “Remain in Mexico” policy. A federal court in northern Texas, where the case was filed, issued a nationwide permanent […]
Grundy County Health Department reports 23 new cases of COVID-19; department says 93% of COVID-19 cases are unvaccinated
The Grundy County Health Department reports 23 new COVID-19 cases since August 11th, bringing the total to 1,436. Sixty-five cases are active. The health department notes 93% of Grundy County COVID-19 cases since January 1st are unvaccinated. That includes children who are too young to receive vaccines at this time. The office mentions that even […]
Missouri State Auditor reports city of Bel-Ridge makes progress on recommendations made in 2020
The city of Bel-Ridge has made progress on the recommendations of a state audit that found several concerns with its financial condition and gave the lowest possible rating, “poor.” A follow-up report issued today by State Auditor Nicole Galloway detailed progress made by the city, which is located in north St. Louis County. “Bel-Ridge residents concerned about […]
Putnam County Health Department reports 19 active cases of COVID-19; one UK Variant, no cases of Delta variant, 10 breakthrough cases
The Putnam County Health Department August 11th reported 19 active COVID-19 cases out of the 566 total. There were 38 hospitalizations and 13 deaths. There had been 26 positive test results so far for August. That is more than the months of June and July combined for Putnam County. The health department urges residents to […]
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
Trenton City Council approves $4.00 increase in base electric meter charge
The Trenton City Council on Monday evening approved a $4.00 increase in the monthly cost for having an electric meter. The increased funds are designed to pay off a loan the city has due to additional energy costs incurred during the extreme cold spell in February. The council also voted to reduce by three dollars […]
Commentary: COVID brings front and center the tug between individual rights and the public good
This article is a commentary. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, the staff, management or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – It seems that getting control of the coronavirus has brought front and center the question: When should an individual’s right […]
Missouri seeks to boost prizes in local vaccine incentive program
(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
Missouri agency begins implementation of new law to regulate unlicensed boarding schools
(Missouri Independent) – Unlicensed youth residential facilities across Missouri are expected to submit materials notifying the state of their existence by mid-October, but background checks for facility staff required under a new law likely won’t be completed by that time. That’s because the Department of Social Services (DSS) is still working to make hires in […]
Additional ambulances to support hospitals across the state of Missouri
Governor Mike Parson announced that Missouri is tripling the number of mutual aid ambulances that provide long-haul patient transfers to help reduce the rising COVID-19 caseloads straining hospitals. Thirty ambulances and more than 60 trained personnel began arriving in five regions of the state on Friday, August 6, 2021. “The ambulance strike teams we positioned […]
Coalition of 33 lawmakers introduce bill to uphold Navigable Water Protection Rule
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt announced that he has joined U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and 31 of their Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to protect Missouri’s farmers, small businesses, and property owners by codifying the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Under the Biden administration, the […]
New Missouri law mandates private space and break times for breastfeeding teachers
(Missouri Independent) – Eight months after her son was born, Webster Groves High School teacher Jaime Adamski broke down in tears at her doctor’s office. Her breast milk had declined significantly since she had gone back to work. “I was depressed, angry, frustrated,” she said. “I felt like I was not a good enough mother […]
Group abandons effort to force a vote on Missouri gas tax increase
(Missouri Independent) – A push by a conservative anti-tax group to force a statewide vote on a gas tax hike approved by Missouri lawmakers earlier this year has been abandoned, the group’s Missouri director said Monday. Jeremy Cady, state director of Americans for Prosperity, confirmed via text message that his organization is no longer working to place the […]
Fight over mask orders growing at rate to rival Missouri Delta variant cases
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]