Face Mask photo from Unsplash

Grundy County Commission to consider mask order after meeting with numerous health professionals

Representatives from Wright Memorial Hospital, the Grundy County Health Department, and Grundy County Ambulance discussed a possible mask order with the Grundy County Commission the morning of December 8th. Wright Memorial Chief Nursing Officer Catherine Hamilton said she does not think communities understand the stresses on hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained there […]

Coronavirus in Prisons

Missouri Department of Corrections implements technology to cut COVID-19 infection rate within prisons

Implementation of three technological innovations in the Missouri Department of Corrections aims to cut COVID-19 infection rates in Missouri state prisons and other facilities. These strategies: Kill the virus in the air Kill the virus on surfaces Detect the virus in wastewater The department now has ionization generators — air purifying devices that destroy 99.4% […]

Marijuana leaf news graphic (Image from Adopbe Stock Images)

Audio: Missouri’s U.S. House members vote along party lines to decriminalize marijuana

The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted largely along party lines in favor of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. Missouri’s Democratic members voted in support and Republicans voted against the plan. GOP Congresswoman Ann Wagner did not vote on the measure. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, would remove […]

Healthcare Graphic

Audio: Missouri prepares to launch new program to help rural hospitals with covid struggles

On Tuesday, Missouri is launching a program focused on helping rural hospitals with their problems of limited staffing, bed capacity, and equipment during the pandemic. In southwest Missouri’s Appleton City, many low-income families are waiting for care. Jamie O’Farrell tells Springfield television station KOLR she treats patients at Ellett Memorial Hospital’s clinic.     Through […]

School Funding

Audio: $76 Million in to be deployed to Missouri’s K-12 schools, once Governor signs supplemental budget

About $76 million in federal money will be heading to Missouri’s k-12 schools, once Governor Mike Parson signs the supplemental budget bill. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says the $1.27 billion supplemental budget includes $75.6 million for school nutrition services.     “i.e., paying for meals in k-12 education,” Smith says. “So this […]

Business finance and economy concept

Census survey reveals COVID-19’s devastating impact in Missouri

(Missouri Independent) – Hundreds of thousands of Missourians are struggling to get by during our coronavirus public health emergency, including children, according to the recently released U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. While 40.8 percent of Missouri households report losing income since March, families with children under 18 have been especially impacted, with 51.4 percent reporting […]

Missouri Governor Mike Parson

Audio: Governor Parson reacts to investigative report into recent COVID deaths at Missouri veterans homes

Missouri’s governor said Thursday in Jefferson City that he wants some answers, after reading a 53-page independent investigation into recent COVID deaths at Missouri veterans homes. Governor Mike Parson ordered the investigation, which was conducted by St. Louis-based Armstrong Teasdale. The governor emphasizes that he’s limited in what he can say because he doesn’t know […]

North Central Missouri Development Alliance or NCMDA

Audio: North Central Missouri Development Alliance calls business retention the foundation of economic development

North Central Missouri Development Alliance Director Micah Landes calls business retention the foundation of economic development. She says it does not make sense for an organization to use time and resources to attract new businesses if the organization is not helping existing businesses. Landes also calls locally-owned businesses the “lifeblood” of a stable economy. Grundy […]