(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and extend […]
(Missouri Independent) – Penalties that Spire Missouri issued to suppliers who failed to provide natural gas during a February cold snap that forced power outages across the Midwest could drive bills for hospitals, schools, and businesses to astronomical levels, according to a trio of complaints pending before state regulators. During the worst of the cold snap in February, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]
(Missouri Independent) – For years after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, activists and community leaders have pushed to “re-envision public safety.” Inspired in part by the Ferguson Commission, which recommended that cities focus more resources on the root causes of crime, organizers across the state echoed these calls. But they largely fell on deaf ears. […]
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, along with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, released a new resource, the “Missouri Plain Language Guide for People with Disabilities, their Families and Caregivers,” on COVID-19 and the vaccine. Through this partnership, the new guide will ensure that important information related to COVID-19 and vaccine access is more […]
Governor Mike Parson announced fifteen appointments to various boards and commissions. Bryan Atkins, of Rea, was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole. Mr. Atkins served as the Sheriff of Andrew County from 2009 until his retirement in 2020. Prior to being elected sheriff, he served as a Deputy Sheriff for Andrew County. He also formerly […]
(Sioux City Journal) – A ransomware attack on the world’s largest meat processing company is disrupting production around the world just weeks after a similar incident shut down a U.S. oil pipeline. JBS SA of Brazil notified the U.S. of a ransom demand from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, White House principal deputy […]
4-H clubs across Missouri have raised more than three-quarters of a million meals to feed hungry families over the last three years. The third annual 4-H Feeding Missouri food drive, in partnership with Missouri Farmers Care Drive to Feed Kids, ran from Jan. 1 through April 30. Even though COVID-19 limited in-person drives, fundraising, volunteer […]
(Missouri Independent) – From statehouses to Congress, Republicans have launched into a fight against the teaching of “critical race theory,” which just a year ago was a niche academic term. Experts in critical race theory say it’s about acknowledging how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, and the concept is being mischaracterized […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missourians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018. But under federal law, growing, transporting, or selling marijuana remains a crime. Unsurprisingly, that dynamic has created a lot of headaches for the fledgling industry. One notable example: Unlike every other legal business in the state, marijuana companies are prohibited from deducting business expenses […]
May 16th marked the 30th anniversary of the start of the Trenton Downtown Improvement Association. TDIA Board Member Cathie Smith says the organization began as a partnership between a group of businessmen and the City of Trenton to get a Neighborhood Assistance Program credit grant to redo sidewalks. She considers one highlight of the group […]
The North Central Missouri Development Alliance has hired a new executive director. Scott Sharp accepted the position on May 17th. He will officially begin on June 14th and work out of the office at the Plaza Apartments in Trenton. He succeeds Micah Landes who resigned earlier this year. Sharp currently works for Pepsi in Chillicothe […]
(Missouri Independent) – As the case counts of the novel coronavirus began to tick up last March across Missouri, providers who offer tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) found their resources were being pulled in two directions. Swabs were in short supply as they became needed for COVID-19 testing. Contact tracers, who reach out to […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri regulators on Tuesday eased the rules governing the design of massive industrial hog facilities in a move critics claim was meant to help one controversial facility. The state’s Clean Water Commission voted 5-1 to narrow the definition of groundwater in the state’s rules governing the construction of “concentrated animal feeding operations” […]
(Missouri Independent) – On Monday morning, Jeremy Cady, state director of Americans for Prosperity, filed paperwork with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office to begin the process of putting the 12.5-cents a gallon tax increase on a statewide ballot. To succeed in forcing a referendum on the bill, the campaign would have to gather about 110,000 […]
(Missouri Independent) – The COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield Foods’ northern Missouri plant — the focus of a worker safety lawsuit that garnered national attention last year — resulted in two worker deaths and was worse than previously thought, according to newly obtained federal documents. Early on in the pandemic, the Sullivan County Health Department told local […]
Legislation that would allow Missouri utility companies to speed their transition to renewable energy is on its way to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk just a day before the General Assembly’s session ends. The Missouri House voted 146-1 Thursday in favor of a policy — also adopted earlier this year in Kansas — that would allow utility providers, like […]
Multiple awards were presented to North Central Missouri College faculty/staff in recognition of their years of service and exemplary accomplishments. Linda Brown, Director of Records and Enrollment/Registrar, Cindy Petrie, Admissions Representative, Lisa Hostetler, WIB Executive Director, Linda Cowling, English Instructor, Vicki Weaver, Board Clerk, Mike O’Neal, Custodian, Stan Scott, Industrial Technology Instructor, and Steve Richman […]
The Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri provides various services in the Green Hills area. One of those services is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps households in need with utilities. Executive Director Chris Small reports Community Action works with more than 40 utility vendors. Some of the vendors are municipal […]
(Missouri Independent) – Utility providers across Kansas and Missouri may soon be able to retire coal-fired power plants faster as the energy sector accelerates its transition to renewable energy sources. Kansas already passed legislation that allows companies to shutter coal plants, which release considerable amounts of carbon dioxide, without the financial hit that would otherwise come […]
