Governor Mike Parson announced that Missouri has requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency participate in joint Preliminary Damage Assessments in 17 counties in response to severe storms and flooding. The joint teams will survey the damage that began with severe storms on June 19 and continued through July 1 in preparation for the state’s official […]
Tag: government
Jobs report for May 2021 shows slight increase in Missouri unemployment numbers
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from April 2021 to May 2021, but the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 6,000 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May […]
Statewide Neighborhood Leadership Academy now accepting registrations
The University of Missouri Extension invites northwest Missouri residents to register for Neighborhood Leadership Academy, a 10-session leadership training program focused on community building principles. NLA will be offered in a virtual format on Monday evenings September 13 through November 15. Registration is now open and can be found by visiting the University of Missouri […]
Missouri State Auditor begins review of city of Purcell
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced her office has begun an audit of the city of Purcell, located in Jasper County. City residents requested the audit through the petition process. “The petition audit process allows citizens to be engaged and ensure accountability with their local government,” Auditor Galloway said. “I look forward to conducting this […]
Missourians need to make their voices heard about the future of the farm and food system
This article is a commentary. The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Tim Gibbons, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, management, or staff. (Missouri Independent) – Missouri Rural Crisis Center recently sent in comments to the Biden Administration and USDA in response to their request […]
Missouri State Auditor releases audit of Missouri State Treasurer’s Office
State Auditor Nicole Galloway released an audit report on the Office of Missouri State Treasurer covering the year that ended June 30, 2020. As with other audits of the office issued since 2016, the most recent report had no findings and gave an overall performance rating of “excellent,” the highest rating available. The report includes […]
U.S. House votes to remove bust of Supreme Court justice who wrote Dred Scott decision
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. House voted Tuesday to remove from the Capitol a bust of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who in 1857 wrote the Dred Scott decision (Dred Scott pictured above article) that stripped all Black Americans, free or slave, of their citizenship. The legislation passed on a vote of 285-120 with only 67 […]
Missouri Supreme Court: State can’t charge attorney fees for Sunshine Law requests
(Missouri Independent) – In a win for transparency advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government agencies cannot charge for time attorneys spend reviewing public records that are requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. In a 6-0 decision, the judges ruled that a lower court erred by siding with Gov. Mike Parson in a lawsuit […]
Missouri State Auditor launches audit of Lawrence County
State Auditor Nicole Galloway said today her office has begun a regularly scheduled audit of Lawrence County, located in southwest Missouri. The most recent audit of Lawrence County was completed in December 2016, with the county receiving an overall rating of “poor.” A follow-up report, released in 2017, showed county officials had made some progress addressing the issues […]
Relief payments to black farmers on hold amid lawsuits backed by former Trump aides
(Missouri Independent) – Former Trump administration officials and conservative and libertarian nonprofits have launched lawsuits to block federal relief funds aimed at Black and minority farmers—a development that House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott of Georgia calls “an evil system at work here.” Suits have been filed in Florida, Wisconsin, and Texas that says it’s […]
USDA, FCC, and NTIA announce interagency agreement to coordinate broadband funding deployment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an interagency agreement to share information about and coordinate the distribution of broadband deployment federal funds. In accordance with the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act, the respective Cabinet and agency leaders announced that their agencies will […]
Biden-Harris administration extends moratorium of residential evictions in USDA multifamily housing communities
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended through July 31, 2021, the moratorium on evictions of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in multifamily housing communities supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The United States is recovering from a nationwide housing affordability crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s […]
Coalition of lawmakers sound alarm on Biden administration’s plan to redefine “Waters of the United States” or WOTUS
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, joined Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Congressman David Rouzer (R-NC) and other top Republican leaders in outlining their concerns regarding the Biden administration’s intention to undo the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. The Biden administration’s recent announcement signaled its intent […]
Missouri State Auditor releases audit of Clay County Sheriff’s Office
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released a report covering the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The report is part of a comprehensive review of the Clay County government initiated by citizens through the petition audit process. “The taxpayers that initiated this audit of Clay County made it clear they wanted a thorough, independent review of […]
Texas man sentenced to 40 years in prison for running child obscenity website
A Texas man was sentenced in the Western District of Texas to 40 years in prison for multiple obscenity crimes involving children. Thomas Alan Arthur, 65, of Terlingua, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 21, 2021, of three counts of trafficking in obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of a child, five […]
Infrastructure, events, budgets and purchases among agenda items tackled at meeting of NCMC Board of Trustees
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees on June 22nd heard about upcoming events involving academic affairs. Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre said a dual credit and adjunct workshop on June 23rd will provide professional development for returning faculty and orientation for new instructors. He noted the college hopes to gather […]
State Auditor’s Office notifies local government entities that recent court ruling will impact allowable local tax rates
The State Auditor’s Office is notifying more than 2,800 local taxing authorities in Missouri that they no longer have the option to calculate local tax rates using a subsection of state law a recent court ruling found to be unconstitutional. The taxing authorities include local government entities such as counties, municipalities, and school and fire […]
Webinar and publications offer guidance for local broadband initiatives
Thirty-seven percent of Missourians did not have wired broadband in their homes from 2015 to 2019. Should we be concerned that one out of three Missouri households are not connected to high-speed internet? What does “wired broadband” mean? As governments roll out new broadband initiatives, these are timely questions that Broadband Technologies: A Primer on […]
Investment in EV infrastructure could add $1.3 trillion to U.S. Gross Domestic Product
As the Biden administration and Congress continue to wrangle over the size and scope of a federal infrastructure package, a new report showed how investing $274 billion to electrify the nation’s transportation system, including electric school busses, 18-wheelers, charging stations, and more would yield a five-fold return for the overall economy. Sam Shriver, strategy and content […]