(Missouri Independent) – School districts are not subject to the law Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is using to challenge masks mandates in classrooms, attorneys for Columbia Public Schools wrote in a court filing seeking dismissal of a lawsuit initiated last month. The district also challenges Schmitt’s standing to file the lawsuit, argues that he is […]
Tag: filing
Chillicothe Police Department reports on two investigations
Chillicothe Police Chief Jon Maples reports a search warrant served in Chillicothe the morning of September 21st in reference to illegal possession of firearms led to other investigations and the arrest of a 39 year old woman. He says police officers and Livingston County deputies served the search warrant in the 400 block of Clay […]
Recommendations by Missouri State Auditor not fully implemented by City of Center, after former city clerk misappropriated $300,000
After an audit last year determined the former city clerk of Center misappropriated more than $300,000, State Auditor Nicole Galloway has issued a follow-up report measuring the progress made to implement the audit’s recommendations. While officials in the Ralls County town of 500 have taken some measures to better safeguard public funds, the follow-up report […]
Missouri Attorney General’s push to sue every school with mask mandate heads to court next week
(Missouri Independent) – Orders requiring school children to wear masks in class will be tested in court next week when a Boone County judge will be asked to decide if Attorney General Eric Schmitt can sue every district in the state in a single case. Circuit Judge Brouck Jacobs has set a hearing for 9 […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to $335 million fraud scheme and $615,000 tax violations
A Missouri, man who was charged in two federal cases pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a $335 million scheme to defraud federal programs that award contracts to firms owned by minorities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans, and in a separate case to filing false tax returns that cheated the government out of […]
“Simply unconscionable”: Advocates push Ameren to keep electric bills low during pandemic
(Missouri Independent) – Ameren Missouri should not increase its electrical rates for its customers as they struggle to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout, a coalition of environmental, veterans, and tenants advocates said Wednesday. The St. Louis-based utility filed with regulators in March seeking a rate increase worth nearly $300 million per year to pay […]
Man from Chula charged with sexual misconduct after exposing himself to restaurant employee
Chillicothe Police Chief Jon Maples says officers located a suspect vehicle on September 7th regarding a call on September 3rd about someone in a restaurant drive-through exposing himself to an employee. The alleged incident happened in the 1000 block of South Washington Street. Maples says a 37-year-old man was arrested for sexual misconduct after officers […]
Judge orders no change – for now – in Missouri’s prisoner health care contractor
(Missouri Independent) – Work to bring a new contractor for prisoner health care services online in Missouri can continue, but the actual transition from Corizon, the current provider, won’t occur until at least early November, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ordered Tuesday. Green issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from canceling its […]
November trial set for lawsuit challenging $1.4 billion Missouri prison health care contract
(Missouri Independent) – A trial will be held in early November to determine whether a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene will take over the contract for prison health care in the Missouri Department of Corrections. In a hearing Thursday, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green set Nov. 3 as the first day in the trial where current […]
Roadblocks facing Kevin Strickland’s innocence claim is nothing new for Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Kevin Strickland was hopeful Thursday was going to be his first step towards freedom after 40 years in prison. A new law that went into effect on Aug. 28 gave Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker a legal avenue to free Strickland, who she says is innocent and wrongly incarcerated. But opposition […]
Lawsuit filed over $1.4 billion contract for Missouri prison healthcare
(Missouri Independent) – The dispute over the $1.4 billion contract to provide prisoner health care in Missouri is moving into the courts. Corizon Health, which has held the Department of Corrections contract since 1992, filed a lawsuit Monday in Cole County alleging that unfair treatment and improper scoring gave the contract to Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of […]
Suspect arrested after police pursuit that began in Chillicothe ends in Linn County
A man from Florida has been arrested following a two-county law enforcement pursuit that began in Chillicothe. It was late Wednesday night on August 25, at 11:52 pm, when a police officer stopped a motorist for excessive speed in the 1000 block of South Washington Street. As the officer contacted the driver, the vehicle sped […]
Biden administration to restart oil and gas leasing
(Missouri Independent) – The Interior Department will make significant steps toward restarting its leasing programs for onshore and offshore oil and gas development in the coming months, the Biden administration said in a court filing Tuesday. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates holding a sale for offshore leases in October or November, the administration […]
Missouri man sentenced prison for tax evasion
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for tax evasion. Duane Dixon, 59, of Sedalia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to three years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Dixon to pay $639,733 in restitution to the IRS. On Feb. 2, 2021, Dixon pleaded guilty to one […]
Missouri Public Service Commission sets deadline in Empire District Gas rate case
The Missouri Public Service Commission has established the deadline for those wishing to intervene and participate in a natural gas rate case filed by The Empire District Gas Company d/b/a Liberty. Applications to intervene and participate in this case must be filed no later than September 27, 2021, with the Secretary of the Missouri Public […]
Missouri tax attorney pleads guilty to tax and labor violations
A Missouri attorney has pleaded guilty in federal court to tax and labor violations. Meagan M. Howe, also known as Meagan M. Hasty, 35, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Thursday, Aug. 19, to one count of failure to pay employment tax and one count of making a […]
Chillicothe woman facing multiple charges after police pursuit
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reports a suspect was found the Thursday morning, August 12, who allegedly fled from Chillicothe Police Wednesday night, August 11, 2021. The sheriff says his office arrested 42-year-old Peggy Jo Zorn of Chillicothe for alleged possession of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine drug paraphernalia, and resisting arrest by flight. She was allegedly […]
Trenton City Council to consider ordinance that would amend city code involving court costs
The Trenton City Council will consider an ordinance that would amend the city code involving court costs and filing fees regarding municipal court. The council will meet at the Trenton City Hall on August 9, 2021, at 7 p.m. The meeting will also be available on Zoom at this link. Other items on the agenda […]
Chillicothe Police Department reports the arrest of two on Thursday
Assistant Chillicothe Police Chief Rick Sampsel reports officers dealt with a fleeing man and responded to an alleged assault the night of August 5th. Each led to an individual being taken to the law enforcement center, processed, and transferred to the Daviess DeKalb Regional Jail. Officers attempted to execute an arrest warrant in the 400 […]
Chillicothe police arrest two teenagers on allegations of auto theft and stolen firearm
Chillicothe Police report two teenagers have been taken into custody as the investigation continues into a report of a stolen vehicle and theft of a firearm. On Tuesday, Chillicothe Police received the report of a motor vehicle stolen from the 1200 block of Webster Street and a firearm stolen from a vehicle in the 900 […]