(Missouri Independent) – Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Thursday against Missouri’s Department of Social Services, alleging the agency unlawfully plans to restrict Medicaid payments to the provider. A March 4 notice sent to Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region cites a supplemental budget bill lawmakers passed last month that bars abortion providers or their affiliates from being […]
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Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum hosting teacher workshop
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri is offering a workshop for teachers and media specialists. The 2022 Mark Twain Teacher Workshop will be held July 11 – 15. The weeklong workshop will focus on Twain’s short stories, including The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Eve’s Diary, The 1,000,000 Bank-note, and […]
Laredo Board of Education accepts health insurance bid; field trips approved for kindergarten through eighth grade
The Laredo R-7 Board of Education on March 7th took action on health insurance for 2022-2023. Ozarks School Benefits Association was accepted. The school will pay $540 plus vision and life insurance. Secretary Robin Griswold reports employees can choose between seven different plans, including HSAs and PPOs. Some of the plans cost more than $540. […]
Missouri budget bill blocks Medicaid patients from accessing Planned Parenthood
Missouri’s supplemental budget bill signed into law Thursday includes a provision to block patients who rely on Medicaid from accessing Planned Parenthood health centers. Federal Medicaid law protects patients’ rights to choose their providers, including Planned Parenthood. Michelle Trupiano, executive director of the Missouri Family Health Council, noted because of the Hyde Amendment, Medicaid cannot cover abortions, […]
Missouri man charged with illegal firearms after police pursuit
A Missouri, man who caused an accident while fleeing from a police helicopter, then ran from police officers through the backyards of a residential neighborhood before being apprehended, was charged in federal court with illegally possessing firearms. Jonathon M. Pentlin, 24, of Belton, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of […]
Missouri Senate passes $4.6B spending bill with pay raises, federal school funds
(Missouri Independent) – With a deadline looming that could cost Missouri almost $2 billion in federal education aid, the bill to distribute the money passed the state Senate on Wednesday after Democrats slammed a zero-dollar funding line as a partisan attack on Planned Parenthood. The $4.6 billion spending bill approved on a 25-7 vote is the first legislation requiring […]
Experts say federal funds for lead pipe replacement needed in Missouri
Missouri has roughly 330,000 lead service lines, the pipes connecting water mains to buildings including people’s homes, and federal funding could help speed up the process of removing and replacing them. The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year includes $15 billion for lead-pipe replacement, building on funds from the American Rescue Plan. Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director at […]
Missouri Attorney General announces finalization of opioid settlement
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his Office has finalized opioid settlements with Johnson & Johnson and major opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen. The Attorney General was joined by families of victims of opioid overdose and representatives from treatment centers and nonprofits across the state. Combined, these settlements bring a total of […]
Missouri state health agency seeks control of Title X funds that go to Planned Parenthood
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri’s state health department has applied to oversee federal family planning funds, a move reproductive health advocates fear would give the state power to cut off funding for providers who refer patients for abortion services. During his confirmation hearing late last month, former Department of Health and Senior Services Director Donald Kauerauf’s […]
Missouri health centers continue to vaccinate, despite staffing shortages
As Community Health Centers (CHCs) mark a year of administering vaccines to underserved Missourians, the needs of the pandemic have strained their services. More than 40% of centers report they do not have enough staff to keep up the vaccination pace. Rodney Hummer, vice president of strategy for the Missouri Primary Care Association and a registered nurse, […]
Missouri Supreme Court tosses laws that blocked 2019 abortion bill referendum
(Missouri Independent) – In a case that grew out of a law making it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after eight weeks, the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday said those seeking to force a referendum on new laws can begin collecting signatures as soon as the bill is passed. The ruling threw […]
Missouri bills would offer incentives for grocery stores, urban farms to eliminate food deserts
(Missouri Independent) – The closure of Save A Lot in Pagedale left a hole in northern St. Louis County. Beyond Housing, a community-building group that serves about two dozen cities in the area had worked through the Great Recession to bring a grocery store closer to low-income residents in a part of the St. Louis area dotted with […]
Grundy County Sheriff’s deputy loses control on icy road striking tree
The Trenton Police Department reports no one was injured when a Grundy County Sheriff’s Department pickup truck hit a tree on Wednesday night, February 2, while in pursuit at a slow speed. Deputy Austin Taul traveled south on Chestnut Street and attempted to make a right turn onto Crowder Road. The pickup lost traction with […]
Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy + Health Center announces new Family Services Manager
Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy + Health Center announces Michelle Stark as their Family Services Manager. Stark oversees and facilitates all of the Education Programs Life Options provides in this role. According to Stark, one of her long life’s desires was to work with pregnant mothers and their babies. Being passionate and skilled in teaching, […]
State of Missouri seeking organizations to provide meals to children during summer months
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is looking for non-profit organizations throughout the state to help feed thousands of children who would otherwise go without meals during the summer months and during times of public emergencies when children do not have access to free or reduced-price meals at school. The Summer Food Service […]
Northwest Missouri State University to host retired NASA astronaut Captain Scott Kelly
Northwest Missouri State University will host retired NASA astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 8, at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts as the next featured speaker for the University’s Distinguished Lecture Series. Kelly’s presentation centers on the remarkable story of his year in space – and how personal determination made […]
Governor Mike Parson touts Missouri’s COVID-19 response in annual State of State address
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson praised his administration’s handling of the still-unfolding COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, telling a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly that the state has emerged ready to make long-term investments in its future. “The bottom line is Missouri’s economy is strong,” Parson said in his annual State of the State […]