Leonardo DRS website

Leonardo DRS expands in West Plains creating more than 100 jobs

Leonardo DRS, a leading provider of defense products and technologies, has announced the start of the expansion of its manufacturing campus in West Plains. The company’s expansion is expected to create more than 100 jobs and was enabled in part by a cooperative effort to construct a new overpass that addresses concerns affecting logistics and […]

Audio: Missouri could have a registry for convicted murderers on probation or parole

Missouri could have a registry for convicted murderers on probation or parole. The state House has given initial approval to a bill sponsored by State Representative Lane Roberts of southwest Missouri’s Joplin. Under his bill, they would be removed from the registry after completing parole or probation.     The Democrat from St. Louis, questions […]

Leadership Northwest Missouri

Leadership Northwest Missouri to once again hold “music jam” as fundraiser

Leadership Northwest Missouri again plans on holding a “music jam” as the event will be raising funds for the organization. This is the program in which community leaders have training and networking opportunities to promote regional growth. Participants are selected from 19 counties. To date, more than 440 persons have taken part in the series […]

Coronavirus or COVID-19 Testing news graphic

Missouri Supreme Court declines to immediately hear appeal of COVID ruling

(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request by five counties and health departments to quickly hear arguments and review a case that they say “upended the longstanding public health framework” in Missouri. The decision means an appeal of a Cole County judge’s November ruling will have to first go through […]

Oil rig with American flag background

Coalition of 27 state treasurers and auditors call on the Biden administration to promote American energy production

Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick joined 26 other state financial officers in calling on the Biden Administration to promote American energy production. In a letter to the President, the state leaders emphasized the need to re-establish American energy independence amid the massive increase in the price of gas and diesel, which is contributing to the […]

Bird Flu News Graphic (Photo credit Danganhfoto on Pixabay)

University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine tracking the spread of bird flu, one test at a time

Throughout the country, an extremely infectious disease called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been circulating rapidly among flocks of chicken and turkeys. While the disease poses little risk to humans, it presents a serious threat to infected birds as well as the nation’s poultry industry, which is already facing supply chain disruptions. At the […]

Photo of crappie (Photo courtesy Mo Dept of Conservation)

New Smithville Lake crappie regulation showing good results, similar change considered for Mozingo Lake

Smithville Lake currently has a special crappie regulation that allows anglers to keep 30 crappies but no more than 15 over nine inches long. The change was made in 2019 and allows anglers to harvest more undersized black crappie while protecting the white crappie numbers. White crappie generally grows to a larger and more desirable […]

Marijuana leaf

U.S. House votes to decriminalize marijuana in federal law

(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. House passed legislation Friday to legalize marijuana nationally, but its future is much less clear in the Senate. The House voted 220-204 to approve the measure, which would fix the split between federal law and 19 states where recreational marijuana is legal. Three Republicans joined all but two Democrats in approving the measure. […]

Scott Adams

Hamilton man allegedly attempts to set fire to his home with wife and two children inside

A Hamilton man faces multiple felony charges after he allegedly tried to set fire to his house on March 31st while his wife and two children were inside. Thirty-one-year-old Scott Clay Adams has been charged with first-degree attempted arson, second-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a […]

Preferred Family Healthcare

Preferred Family Healthcare to pay more than $8 million in fines related to embezzlement, bribery investigation

Springfield, Missouri-based nonprofit Preferred Family Healthcare will pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement announced, which acknowledges the criminal conduct of its former officers and employees. “Preferred Family Healthcare must relinquish the illegal profits it garnered from […]

Prison Sentence

Missouri man convicted of being a sex offender while in the Army in 2017, sentenced to 15 years in prison for child pornography

A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court after a law enforcement officer noticed child pornography on his cell phone during a traffic stop. Justin Barton, 34, of Lebanon, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Barton to spend the rest […]

Drinking Water Fountain (Photo by Sean Musil on Unsplash)

Missouri House bill would cut down on poisonous lead in school drinking water

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri children would be better protected from lead poisoning under a state legislative bill to require schools to nearly rid their drinking water of the dangerous toxin. The bill, heard Monday by the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, would require schools to test drinking water, remove old coolers and filter water where […]

Corteva Enlist Products website

Corteva Enlist products now available in all Missouri Counties

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Corteva herbicide products Enlist One and Enlist Duo in all Missouri counties. A seven-year registration announced by EPA in January 2022 had restricted the use of Enlist One and Enlist Duo weed management options in five Missouri counties (Barton, Bates, Cedar, St. Clair, and Vernon). “The […]