Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Google for alleged unlawful antitrust actions. The suit, filed on Thursday, alleges exclusionary conduct relating to the Google Play Store for Android mobile devices and Google Billing. The coalition of attorneys general accuses Google of using its dominance […]
Tag: IED
“Surge response team” arrives in Missouri amid COVID-19 spike caused by Delta variant
(Missouri Independent) – As federal officials land in Missouri at the request of the state to assist with combatting a wave of new COVID cases spurred by the Delta variant, Gov. Mike Parson publicly rebuffed outreach strategies President Joe Biden touted. On Tuesday, a member of the newly-created federal surge response team arrived in the […]
Farm Service Agency now accepting nominations for county committee members
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency began accepting nominations for county committee members on June 15. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas for these members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2021 election must be postmarked or received in the […]
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 […]
Bob Griffin, longest-serving Missouri House speaker, has died at age 85
(Missouri Independent) – Bob F. Griffin, who served as speaker of the Missouri House for 15 years until he was forced to resign in the face of a federal criminal investigation, died Wednesday in Columbia. He was 85. Griffin was the longest-serving speaker in the state’s history. During his tenure as speaker from 1981 to 1996, the […]
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 […]
Groups say postal reform Bill would benefit rural Missouri
Supporters of the U.S. Postal Service are pressing for passage of a bill to shore up the troubled agency. Twin versions of the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act of 2021 are winding their way through committees in the U.S. House and Senate. John McHugh, a former congressman from New York who served as Secretary of the Army until […]
Woman alleges in lawsuit that former Harrison County sheriff stole drugs, sexually assaulted plaintiff
The Associated Press reports a woman has alleged in a civil rights lawsuit that former Harrison County Sheriff Joshua Eckerson gave her drugs and sexually assaulted her. Eckerson killed himself last year after a special prosecutor charged him with misdemeanor counts of misuse of official information by a public servant, trespassing, and domestic assault. The […]
Grundy County to request bids to replace radio equipment for fire department and ambulance
Grundy County is requesting formal qualifications-based competitive sealed proposals from qualified, licensed, and experienced providers for a turnkey project to provide the county a new Conventional Project-25 700/800 Megahertz digital simulcast radio network. Emergency Management Director Glen Briggs reports the radio system is a proposed replacement system for the current fire and ambulance system. The […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol reports on July 4 holiday statistics, including 7 fatalities
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the following 2021 July Fourth holiday statistics: 2021 July Fourth Holiday Traffic Statistics Troopers worked 312 traffic crashes, which included 124 injuries and all seven fatalities. Troopers also made 144 DWI arrests and 81 drug arrests over the holiday weekend. 2021 July Fourth Holiday Boating Statistics Troopers worked 12 […]
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 […]
Delta variant spread means Missouri COVID cases may ‘double or triple’ in July
(Missouri Independent) – During June, as the Delta variant of COVID-19 took hold in Missouri, the seven-day average of new cases doubled. And now that the easily spread mutation has reached every corner of the state, July will be a repeat of June, or worse, according to the University of Missouri professor monitoring wastewater for the […]
Judge appoints new prosecutor in perjury case against Eric Greitens investigator
(Missouri Independent) – A St. Louis circuit judge has approved attorney Gerard Carmody’s motion to withdraw as the special prosecutor in the case of an ex-FBI agent charged with perjury and evidence tampering during the 2018 criminal investigation of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Johnson County Prosecutor Robert Russell will take Carmody’s place in the […]
Carroll County Memorial Hospital announces Dr. Nicholas Shuler joins Outpatient Specialty Clinic
Carroll County Memorial Hospital welcomes Dr. Nicholas Shuler, DO to the Outpatient Specialty Clinic team. Dr. Shuler will provide CCMH patients with Oncology and Hematology services. “We are excited to add Dr. Shuler to our team of specialty care providers,” said Tim Braun, Chief Operations Officer. “Dr. Shuler has specialized training for various cancers including […]
Blue Springs man charged in Daviess County after leading authorities on high-speed pursuit
A Blue Springs man has been charged in Daviess County after reportedly leading law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit on Thursday, July 1. Forty-seven-year-old Jerret Michael Hilderbrand faces two felony counts of unlawful possession of a firearm as well as one felony count each of resisting arrest, detention, or stop by fleeing, creating a substantial […]
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 […]
Registered sex offender from Missouri sentenced to 24 years in prison without parole for receiving, distributing child porn
A Missouri man who is a registered sex offender has been sentenced in federal court for receiving and distributing child pornography. Eddie Feck, 45, of Buffalo, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark on Thursday, July 1, to 24 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Feck to spend the […]
U.S. Attorney General imposes moratorium on federal executions; orders review of policies and procedures
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a memorandum imposing a moratorium on federal executions while reviewing the Justice Department’s policies, and procedures is pending. “The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States but […]
Six from Texas indicted in Missouri for conspiracy to steal from bank ATMs
Six Houston, Texas, residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to travel across the country breaking into bank ATMs and stealing the money inside, including at least one theft in Kansas City, Missouri. Deandre J. Gilliam, 19, Ladarious S. Thomas, 28, Jamarkus D. Bogany, 19, J’Korean K. […]
Missouri State Auditor begins review of city of Purcell
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced her office has begun an audit of the city of Purcell, located in Jasper County. City residents requested the audit through the petition process. “The petition audit process allows citizens to be engaged and ensure accountability with their local government,” Auditor Galloway said. “I look forward to conducting this […]