UTV or Utility Terrain Vehicle Crash

Two hospitalized after UTV crashes north of Greencastle

Two people were hurt late Saturday afternoon when a UTV overturned north of Greencastle. The driver, 27-year old Curry Payne of Prairie Village, Kansas, and a passenger, 20-year old Anna Marie White of Grandview, were taken to Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville with moderate injuries. The accident happened five miles north of Greencastle on […]

Transgender Students Graphic

Bill banning trans students from sports teams by gender wins support of Missouri House

(Missouri Independent) – After hours of fierce debate that spanned the course of two days, the Missouri House on Wednesday signed off on a prohibition on transgender students participating on the sports teams that match their gender identity. The provision, offered as an amendment by Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, to House Bill 1141 was adopted by a vote […]

CRP Website Revised (Conservation Reserve Program website)

USDA expands and renews Conservation Reserve Program in effort to boost enrollment and address climate change

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program with higher payment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership Program […]

Medicaid Expansion

Audio: Senate committee rejects compromise to fund Medicaid expansion on a smaller scale

On a tie vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee has rejected a compromise proposal that would have funded Medicaid expansion on a smaller scale. The effort, led by Springfield Republican Lincoln Hough, would have designated 60-million dollars in state funding to the expansion. Republican Governor Parson requested more than 100-million dollars and the House chose not […]

Representative Rick Roeber Lee's Summit

Audio: For the first time since the Civil War, the Missouri House votes to expel one of its own

The Missouri House has voted unanimously to expel Lee’s Summit Representative Rick Roeber. The House Ethics Committee released an investigative report this week about allegations that Roeber, a Republican, abused his four adult children when they were younger. It says two of the children were allegedly sexually abused and two others reported being physically abused. […]

Grain Belt Express

Audio: Anti-Grain Belt Express bill gets another Senate hearing with testimony lasting two hours

The Grain Belt Express project plans to run wind power transmission lines across eight rural counties in northern Missouri—from Buchanan through Ralls. Though the Public Service Commission has approved it and the commission’s approval won a court challenge, agricultural opponents have once again found support in the Legislature. The Missouri House passed HB 527 to stop utility […]

Missouri’s work toward vaccine accessibility for those with disabilities highlighted at national level

Representatives from Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccine planning team will present to a national audience on the state’s efforts toward prioritizing those with disabilities for vaccination. The White House COVID-19 Response Team and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are hosting the virtual forum – Breaking Down Barriers for People Who Have Challenges Accessing COVID-19 Vaccination. […]

Fraud News Graphic

Attorney General files fraud charges against Missouri contractor

Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that Donald L. White, 41, of Festus, has been charged with additional felony counts in Jefferson County relating to allegations of contractor fraud and theft. The Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case in conjunction with the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office previously filed […]

Household Expenses, budget or mortgage

Missouri spending bill would offer money for mortgage help, utility bills

(Missouri Independent) – Help may be coming for Missouri homeowners behind on their mortgage payments because of COVID-19 income losses. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday added $150 million in federal mortgage assistance funds to the supplemental spending bill for the current fiscal year, one of several new sections using money from pandemic relief bills passed by Congress […]