Seventeen more individuals have been charged in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $11.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and to use those funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other personal items. According to court documents and statements made in court, between May and August 2020, the defendants submitted or […]
Tag: identify
Drug distributors Johnson and Johnson reach settlement in opioid case with state of Missouri
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today announced that his office has received a term sheet from Johnson and Johnson and multiple distributors (McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Cardinal Health), setting the stage for the largest victim-centric settlements the State of Missouri has ever seen and tentatively securing roughly just over half a billion dollars of funding […]
Southern Missouri man charged with bank robbery
A Missouri, man who was identified when his photo was broadcast by local TV stations was charged in federal court today with bank robbery. Charles Edgar King Jr., 56, of Springfield, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday, July 20. His initial court appearance was […]
Blunt sponsors bipartisan senate effort to protect wildlife
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.) introduced the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) of 2021 to invest in proactive, on-the-ground conservation work led by states, territories, and Tribal nations to support the long-term health of fish and wildlife habitat all across America. “Missouri is home to some of the best hunting, […]
Texas Department of State Health and CDC confirm Monkeypox in U.S. traveler
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on July 15 a case of human monkeypox in a U.S. resident who recently traveled from Nigeria to the United States. The person is currently hospitalized in Dallas. CDC is working with the airline and state and local health officials to contact airline passengers and others who […]
FBI seeking assistance in identifying unknown male who may have information regarding a child victim
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking the public’s assistance with obtaining identifying information regarding an unknown male who may have critical information pertaining to the identity of a child victim in an ongoing sexual exploitation investigation. Photographs and an informational poster depicting the unknown individual, known only as John Doe 44, are being disseminated […]
USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands signups
Agricultural producers and landowners can apply for the Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands signup from today until August 20. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated signup options to provide greater incentives for producers and increase the program’s conservation and climate benefits, including setting a minimum rental rate and identifying two national priority zones. […]
Sara Walsh joins growing field in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District
(Missouri Independent) – A crowded Republican primary is emerging in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, a solidly GOP seat that is also the only one of the state’s eight districts certain to have a new lawmaker at the end of 2022. State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, on Wednesday became the latest candidate to enter the race […]
Missouri State Auditor releases audit of Henry County
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of Henry County, located in western Missouri. The audit received an overall rating of “good”, an improvement since a 2015 audit that found several reoccurring issues throughout county government. The audit made recommendations to improve financial oversight in the Prosecuting Attorney’s office. The audit also recommended […]
University of Missouri Broadband Initiative outlines community-driven process for local expansion
Adoption of broadband has the potential to boost a community’s economic growth and quality of life. But in much of Missouri, especially rural areas, the high-bandwidth wirelines to connect households and businesses don’t exist. Helping more Missouri communities become digitally connected was the topic of a recent webinar by the University of Missouri System Broadband […]
Endangered fish, leaching ash ponds: Environmental groups oppose Missouri coal plant permit
(Missouri Independent) – For years, Lisa Zerbe said she biked, rode horses, and ran near Ameren Missouri’s largest coal-fired power plant in Franklin County because she “naively believed” state environmental regulators were protecting citizens from pollution. Now, she won’t. “It is truly a disheartening feeling of betrayal from an agency in my younger years I […]
Two killed in small plane crash near Lamoni, Iowa
The Associated Press reports an Omaha, Nebraska businessman was one of two people killed in a small plane crash near the Lamoni, Iowa Municipal Airport on July 1st, according to the man’s brother. Kevin Paladino told the Omaha World-Herald that 54-year old Dave Paladino was flying the single-engine Cirrus SR-22 that crashed, killing him and […]
Chillicothe Police Department attempting to identify suspect who ran from business
The Chillicothe Police Department is attempting to identify a man who allegedly ran out of the back of a business and into a wooded area on June 28 at approximately 1 a.m. Chief Jon Maples reports the department is disseminating information to other law enforcement agencies and gathering and following up on leads. Sergeant Cody […]
‘A highway away’: Delta variant, low vaccine rates cause COVID spike across Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Kendra Findley had thought the Springfield area had seen the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in December — a month when cases regularly surpassed 200 a day and that saw a record 98 residents die of the virus. Looking back, that was when the Alpha variant, first identified in the U.K., was […]
USDA, FCC, and NTIA announce interagency agreement to coordinate broadband funding deployment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an interagency agreement to share information about and coordinate the distribution of broadband deployment federal funds. In accordance with the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act, the respective Cabinet and agency leaders announced that their agencies will […]
University of Missouri study says 97 of 114 Missouri counties have nursing shortage areas
While the United States faces a nationwide nursing shortage, a recent study at the University of Missouri found rural Missouri counties experience nursing shortages at a greater rate than the state’s metropolitan counties. In addition, the study found rural Missouri counties have a higher percentage of older nurses nearing retirement, which could have a severe impact on […]
Lawmakers introduce Bill to improve housing services for survivors of human trafficking
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Dick Durbin (Ill.), as well as U.S. Representatives Joyce Beatty (Ohio) and Ann Wagner (Mo.), introduced legislation that would commission a study reviewing current homelessness and housing services for survivors of trafficking. “We can […]
Multiple health departments notified of COVID positive individuals who attended Ashes to Beauty Conference
The Mercer County, Grundy County, and Tri-County health departments have been notified of COVID-19 positive individuals who attended the Ashes to Beauty Conference in Roach, Missouri on June 4 through 6. The staff members of the health departments are working together to identify, isolate, and quarantine individuals who may have been exposed. It is recommended […]
Kansas City man facing multiple felony charges in Caldwell County after high-speed pursuit
A Kansas City man faces several felony charges in Caldwell County after he allegedly misidentified himself and fled from police, starting from Polo, in April. Forty-six-year-old Billy Leon McCollum has been charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle; resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony; resisting arrest, detention, or stop by fleeing, […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture announces 2021 Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
The Missouri Department of Agriculture announced that the Missouri Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is up and running for the summer. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services, the SFMNP assists low-income seniors in obtaining fresh, Missouri Grown produce and generates more than $200,000 for the farmers’ market community. Through the […]