(Missouri Independent) – With $6.5 billion on the way from the federal infrastructure bill and a newly increased gas tax, Missouri is ready to take a big bite out of $4.5 billion in unfunded highway needs, Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said this week. But that doesn’t mean the state is ready to tackle […]
Tag: FEDERAL
Missouri State Treasurer calls on President Biden to recall nomination of Saule Omarova as Comptroller of the Currency
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today sent a letter to President Biden expressing his concerns about Saule Omarova’s nomination for Comptroller of the Currency. The Treasurer was joined in the letter by 20 members of the State Financial Officer’s Foundation. “The Comptroller of the Currency is a position that likely few outside of the […]
Climate funds in infrastructure bill aimed at drought, wildfires, floods
(Missouri Independent) – The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill isn’t just about roads and bridges — it also spends billions to address wildfire, drought, flooding, and other effects from climate change, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The $1.2 trillion measure, which is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after the House cleared it last week, includes pay […]
Critics say Spire Missouri’s warning of natural gas outages a “manufactured crisis”
(Missouri Independent) – As federal energy regulators prepare to decide the fate of a St. Louis natural gas pipeline, Spire Missouri is warning customers their gas service could fail this winter. Business industry groups and the utility maintain their responsibility to keep customers informed. But environmental groups and some local elected officials — who note federal regulators seem […]
Audio: New effort underway to help Missourians sign up for health insurance through marketplace or Medicaid
The Missouri Primary Care Association has launched an effort to help Missourians sign up for health insurance through the federal marketplace or Medicaid. The “Show Me Coverage” partnership with 15 Missouri community health centers will include help over the phone and in-person to get enrolled. Participating community health centers include in Versailles, Kansas […]
Missouri among first states to file suit challenging CMS vaccine mandate
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson led a coalition of 10 states in challenging the vaccine mandate propagated by the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on healthcare workers across the nation, becoming the first states to file a lawsuit challenging this mandate. Attorney General Eric Schmitt […]
Jury convicts two Mexican nationals, living in Kansas City, of distributing 220 pounds of meth
Two Mexican nationals have been convicted by a federal trial jury for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms (220 lbs) of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in northwest Missouri. Juan Guzman, also known as “Flaco,” 40, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Maria De La Cruz Nava, […]
Trenton R-9 Board of Education sets filing dates for Board of Education positions in 2022
Teachers of the first quarter were announced at November 9th’s Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting. They are Rissler Elementary School First Grade Teacher Abby Gott, Trenton Middle School Art Teacher Sheridan Mounce, and Trenton High School American Government Teacher Derek Bloom. Superintendent Mike Stegman noted the board will choose a teacher of the year […]
New funds and strategy may boost “massive task” of reducing lead exposure for Missouri kids
(Missouri Independent) – It’s clear that lead exposure is a problem for Missouri’s children. An estimated 4.5% have elevated levels of lead in their blood, more than almost any other state in the country. What’s far more difficult is figuring out where children are getting exposed to lead, said Carlton Waterhouse, President Joe Biden’s pick for […]
Missouri Attorney General files motion for preliminary injunction in border wall lawsuit
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office filed a motion for preliminary injunction in their lawsuit against the Biden Administration for refusing to continue construction on the Southwest border wall. Missouri and Texas filed suit in late October to require the Biden Administration to continue construction on the border wall using […]
Grundy County Health Department to hold Pfizer vaccine clinic for children
The Grundy County Health Department will hold a Pfizer vaccine clinic for children aged 5-11 on Tuesday, November 30, 2-4 pm. The vaccine is a 2-dose series; the second dose is given 21 days after the initial dose. A second dose clinic is planned for December. The Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11 is a […]
More navigators on hand for ‘healthcare.gov’ enrollment
The federal health insurance marketplace is now open, and this fall, there’s more help to guide Ohioans through the process of finding coverage. After cutbacks over the past few years, the federal government has quadrupled the number of navigators to help people find health insurance for 2022. Zach Reat is the director of health initiatives with […]
Missouri leads 11 state coalition in filing suit to halt federal vaccine mandate
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt co-led an eleven-state coalition with Montana, Arizona, and Nebraska in filing a lawsuit against Joe Biden and the Biden Administration to halt their vaccine mandate on private employers with more than 100 employees. Missouri and the coalition of states are the first states to file suit against the vaccine mandate […]
House passes bill to expand internet access
House Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves issued the following statement after his legislation, the Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility (E-BRIDGE) Act passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support on Thursday. The E-BRIDGE Act will now head to the Senate for further consideration. “The E-BRIDGE Act cuts through […]
Audio: Seventh District State Representative Rusty Black on legislation, vaccine mandates and schools
Seventh District State Representative Rusty Black is finishing his fifth year in the legislature. He says he has gotten into a niche with a group of people who work with him on legislation. He is on the Missouri State Employee Retirement System Board of Trustees. He reports there is a piece of legislation he has […]
Corizon loses challenge to Missouri prisoner medical care contract award worth $1.4 billion
(Missouri Independent) – The company providing health care to state prisoners failed to prove a competitor misled state purchasing officers to win the $1.4 billion contract, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled Thursday. Corizon Health, which has been the state’s vendor for prisoner medical needs since 1992, accused the state Purchasing Division of giving the contract […]
Missouri Attorney General announces he will sue to halt latest Biden Administration vaccine mandate
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that he will sue to halt the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate on private employers first thing on Friday morning when OSHA’s ETS is officially published in the federal register. “The federal government does not have the authority to unilaterally force private employers to mandate their employees get vaccinated or […]