United States Supreme Court (Phot credit Laura Olson - States Newsroom)

Supreme Court appears wary of Biden vaccine-or-test employer mandate

(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared unconvinced Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses, casting doubt on a key piece of the White House COVID-19 response. The justices seemed potentially more comfortable with another Biden administration rule to fight the virus that requires certain […]

Scott Fitzpatrick

Missouri schools must comply with COVID ruling to win treasurer approval of bond deals

(Missouri Independent) – If school districts want to take advantage of a lower interest rate on bonds, Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is requiring them to certify compliance with a recent court ruling targeting local health orders before his office will approve of the deal. Fitzpatrick detailed the decision he described as “unprecedented” in an interview Wednesday […]

School buses wait Tuesday outside Thomas Hart Benton Elementary School in Columbia (Photo Credit Rudi Keller Missouri Independent

Confusion around COVID ruling swirls as two Missouri school districts end semester early

(Missouri Independent) – As a growing number of Missouri school districts drop COVID mitigation measures under threat from Attorney General Eric Schmitt, at least two closed the doors on their fall semester early due to large numbers of staff and students out sick. Meanwhile, local public health departments said Tuesday they still have not heard […]

North Central Missouri College Website V2 (NCMC)

NCMC hosts legislative forum with four state representatives, one senator, two representatives for federal legislators and president of MCCA

Four state representatives, one state senator, two representatives for federal legislators, and the president of the Missouri Community College Association spoke at a forum in Trenton November 29th. The legislative forum was in Cross Hall on the campus of North Central Missouri College. The speakers were asked to answer one question: What is your perspective […]

Grundy County Commission Sign

Grundy County Commission approves cost of living pay raise for county employees; Commission accepts bids for vehicles

The Grundy County Salary Commission on October 26, 2021, approved a two percent cost of living adjustment increase for county employees. The adjustment is pending the outcome of the county budget for 2022. All elected officials at the meeting voted in favor of the proposal, except for Sheriff Rodney Herring who abstained. Herring said he […]

Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA Website

DEA launches “One Pill Can Kill” campaign

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in counterfeit pills that are mass-produced by criminal […]

Unemployment Rate

Livingston, Mercer, and Worth counties among those in Green Hills region with lowest unemployment rates

Missouri Division of Employment Security figures indicates Livingston, Mercer, and Worth counties are among those with the lowest unemployment rates for August 2021, the most recent month available. Worth County has the second-lowest unemployment rate for Missouri at two percent. Only Osage county has fewer unemployed, a one-point nine percent. Mercer County’s rate is two […]

Missouri Coronavirus

Audio: Eight of nine Missouri counties leading in COVID-19 case rates over the past week are in southeast Missouri

Eight of nine Missouri counties leading in COVID-19 case rates over the past week are in the southeast part of the state. They are Scott, New Madrid, Carter, Madison, Mississippi, Perry, St. Francois, and Bollinger Counties.  Nurse Eric Slaughter tells KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau the hospital turned a holding area into additional intensive care unit […]

COVID-19 Delta Variant

COVID cases among children rising as Missouri Delta variant wave enters fifth month

(Missouri Independent) – Clay LaRue, superintendent of the Van Buren R-1 School District, made a tough decision Sunday. With COVID-19 cases spiking in Carter County in southeast Missouri, and many of those infections among very young children, LaRue shut down the district’s pre-kindergarten program for two weeks. He had previously directed faculty, staff, and students […]

Group Photo of Missouri Public Safety Medals

Governor Parson awards Missouri Public Safety Medals to first responders and civilians for heroic actions in 2020

Governor Mike Parson awarded Missouri Public Safety Medals to a total of 15 first responders and 7 civilians for heroic and life-saving actions during 2020. The awards are Missouri’s highest recognition for first responders acting during critical incidents. The civilians, who include a 12-year-old boy who performed a life-saving rescue at age 11, were honored […]