Vaccine Distribution or Covid-19 or Coronavirus

Feds tell states to give COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 65 and older in bid to speed rollout

(Missouri Independent) – The Trump administration on Tuesday directed state officials to expand who is getting vaccinated for COVID-19, and announced that all available doses will be distributed to states instead of holding back a reserve of follow-up doses. Under the policy changes outlined by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, states should begin […]

Explosive Device

Brookfield residents charged with possessing explosive devices as well as auto theft

Two Brookfield residents have been charged in Linn County after law enforcement found what was determined to be homemade explosive devices in a residence on Caldwell Street. Twenty-nine-year-old Creed David Paul Jones faces the felonies of unlawful possession, transport, manufacture, repair, or sale of an illegal weapon; stealing—motor vehicle/watercraft/aircraft; and possession of a controlled substance […]

Roy Blunt Reservoir

NCRS releases final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for East Locust Creek Watershed Plan

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Missouri released a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) recently for the East Locust Creek Watershed Plan. The plan involves the construction of a proposed multiple-purpose reservoir in Sullivan County.  The supplement addresses changes since NRCS prepared the East Locust Creek Watershed Plan and Environmental Impact Statement in 2006. […]

Wastewater map of wastewater plants being tested for COVID markers

Statewide project testing wastewater for markers that cause COVID-19 underway

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and researchers at the University of Missouri – Columbia have been collaborating on a statewide project to test domestic wastewater for genetic markers of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Missouri’s Coronavirus Sewershed Surveillance Project is funded by a Centers for […]

Farmer Standing in a Field

Crop review for December 2020

Grain bids surged throughout December. Overseas feed demand, the worker strike in Argentina, and weather conditions in South America were significant factors in soybean and corn prices gaining so much ground. Dry conditions in key growing areas in South America have put yield potential into question, however, the true range of crop loss is still […]

Lack of adequate funding has left county taxpayers bearing incarceration costs of state prisoners

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released an audit of the County Reimbursement Program, which reimburses county governments for certain costs for housing and transporting state prisoners. The program is administered by the Missouri Department of Corrections. The audit found that a combination of delayed reimbursements due to lack of state funding and increasing incarceration […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

Missouri monthly jobs report for November, 2020

The Missouri labor market showed further improvement in November 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 17,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from October 2020 to November 2020, and the civilian labor force increased more than 23,000. However, the labor market still showed substantial losses from […]

Investigation File Closed Graphic

No charges to be filed against Cleveland officers over 2014 shooting of Tamir Rice

The Justice Department announced that the career prosecutors reviewing the independent federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice on Nov. 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio, found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges against Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.  The department notified counsel for Mr. Rice’s family […]

Medical Marijuana

Judge tosses lawsuit challenging Missouri medical marijuana license caps

(Missouri Independent) – A Cole County judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit alleging limitations on the number of medical marijuana licenses issued by the state were unconstitutional.  Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce ruled that the regulations at the heart of the lawsuit were “properly promulgated and are in compliance with Missouri’s laws and Constitution.” She […]

Coronavirus or COVID-19 Testing news graphic

Department of Health and Senior Services says COVID-19 testing continues to be important factor in reducing spread

The State of Missouri is now partnering with the Missouri Primary Care Association and MAKO Medical to continue hosting free COVID-19 testing events throughout the state.  Missourians can register for events currently scheduled at health.mo.gov/communitytest and continue to check back for future opportunities to be tested at a nearby event. Missouri residency is the only requirement; individuals […]

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine website

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services sets into motion plans for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine administration

Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services signed the standing order for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine administration after final review of recommendations made earlier today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  “The first week of vaccinations among health care workers in Missouri went extremely well,” said Williams. “We […]