A Missouri man who stole a firearm from the victim of a fatal shooting in a liquor store parking lot has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing the firearm. James A. Jones, 34, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes on Monday, Oct. 25, to five years and […]
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing a firearm following a shooting on the street of a residential neighborhood. Terrquan J. Beasley, 22, Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Officers were dispatched to Research Medical Center, 2316 […]
A Missouri man who downloaded thousands of images and videos of child pornography was sentenced in federal court. Nicholas Goins, 36, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Goins to spend the rest of his life on supervised release […]
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since the program began in 1985, mammography rates have more than doubled for women age 50 and older. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, outside of skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (13%) women in the US will develop […]
(Missouri Independent) – A cybersecurity expert targeted for investigation by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is demanding a public apology and payment for his costs for legal help and damage to his reputation. Shaji Khan, an associate professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the director of its Cybersecurity Institute made the demand in a letter sent […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson escalated his war with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday when his political operation published a video doubling down on his attack against a reporter who informed the state that a state website revealed teacher Social Security numbers. The video is produced by Uniting Missouri, a political action committee created by […]
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) introduced the bipartisan COMFORT Act to solve the current shortage of Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) and increase access to counseling services on military installations. The senators’ bill allows for license portability for MFLCs, so counselors can work outside of the state in which they are licensed. “Families […]
The Missouri USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced November 19, 2021, as the cut-off date to apply for the Fiscal Year 2022 funds through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program. EQIP allows farmers, ranchers, forestland managers, and landowners an opportunity to conserve natural resources by making available financial assistance to improve soil, water, air, plants, animals, […]
(Missouri Independent) -When Gov. Mike Parson last week angrily called for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to be prosecuted for uncovering security flaws on a state agency website, he said the newspaper’s actions could “cost Missouri taxpayers up to $50 million.” That amount, two Democrats on the House Budget Committee said Tuesday, is an estimate for providing […]
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) introduced the Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster (SPEED) Recovery Act to help small communities recover from disasters more quickly by allowing more small recovery projects to proceed under simplified procedures—giving communities more control and more tools to rebuild and recover. “By far, most disaster recovery projects in the United States […]
Chillicothe Police on Sunday conducted a suspicious death investigation involving a teenager who is believed to have ingested what police call “Counterfeit Prescription Pills.” Two people of interest from Chillicothe have been arrested and were charged on Monday for their alleged roles in the death of the 17-year-old girl. On Sunday at 11:30, Chillicothe officers […]
(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 […]
(Missouri Independent) – On Tuesday, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alerted the state that Social Security numbers of school teachers and administrators were vulnerable to public exposure due to flaws on a website maintained by Missouri’s department of education. The newspaper agreed to hold off publishing any story while the department fixed the problem and […]
Three Missouri residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a scheme to use the identities of deceased people to file hundreds of false stimulus claims under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Warren W. Watkins, 39, and Marissia Jackson, 25, both of Kansas City, Mo., and Lamar K. Johnson, […]
An online tool is now available to help ranchers document and estimate payments to cover feed transportation costs caused by drought, which are now covered by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated the program this year to include feed transportation costs as well as […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Howell, Greene, and Texas counties. Jose I. Gonzales, 39, of West Plains, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On July 23, 2020, Gonzales pleaded guilty to […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to receiving and distributing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Chandler Durham, 31, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. On Feb. 5, 2020, a detective with the Southwest Missouri Cyber […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 250 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Noah Frazier, 39, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to one count of conspiracy to distributed methamphetamine and one count of being […]
A Missouri, couple pleaded guilty in federal court to a scheme to smuggle counterfeit Disney DVDs into the United States and sell them on eBay. Tabitha Nicole Rodgers, 42, and her husband, Clint Travis Rodgers, 48, of Columbia, Missouri, pleaded guilty in separate appearances before Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr. Tabitha Rodgers pleaded guilty […]
The State of Missouri has created and made available spending toolkits to help local governments identify allowable uses for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) local funds. “We want to assist our local partners in making strategic, responsible investments that will serve Missourians for generations to come,” Governor Mike Parson said. “Our first priority is to ensure taxpayer […]
