Tornado Drill graphic

Missouri’s 2022 statewide tornado drill to be held today

Missouri’s 2022 statewide tornado drill will be held today (Tuesday, March 8, 2022) at 10 a.m. This is an opportunity for Missourians to practice their sheltering plans and ensure readiness in case of a severe weather emergency while at home, work, or school. Each year, the National Weather Service chooses the date of Missouri’s statewide […]

Grants News Graphic

NCMC one of seven universities receiving Nursing Education Incentive Program grant

The Missouri State Board of Nursing recently announced the award of substantial nursing education program grants to seven Missouri universities and colleges. The Nursing Education Incentive Program grants were established in 2011 in order to increase the physical and educational capacity of professional nursing programs in Missouri. The funding, through legislative appropriations, comes from the […]

Politics or election or republican or Democrat graphic

Audio: Grudges continue among Missouri Senate Republicans as bickering breaks out on the floor

The grudges continue among Missouri Senate Republicans. The upper chamber did not vote on any bills on Thursday.  A group of Republicans who continue to stall work in the chamber ate up the clock talking about abortion. That’s when Senator Karla May, a Democrat from St. Louis, interrupted to speak her mind.     The […]

Audit Graphic

Missouri State Auditor gives Clay County Commission’s office rating of “Poor”; details how commissioners obstructed audit process

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued her office’s audit of the Clay County Commission, which was initiated by a citizen petition in 2018. The report follows repeated but ultimately unsuccessful efforts by former county commissioners to impede the completion of the audit. The report, which gave a rating of “poor” – the lowest possible […]

Investigation with magnifying glass

Missouri Attorney General joins nationwide investigation into TikTok

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults while use is associated with physical and mental health harms. Attorneys General nationwide are examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws that put the public at risk. Attorney General […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

January 2022 Missouri jobs report shows a drop in unemployment to 3.8%

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from December 2021 to January 2022, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 9,100 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in January 2022, […]

President Joe Biden Photo provided by White House

Here’s what you will hear Biden talk about in his debut State of the Union address

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address is set to focus significantly on the economy, with the former member of the U.S. Senate calling on Congress to pass much of the agenda stalled in the so-called Build Back Better bill. During the Tuesday night speech, which begins at 9 p.m. […]

Russian Military via Wikipedia

How the Ukraine invasion could affect you: Higher food, gas prices, risk of recession

(Missouri Independent) – Americans may be tempted to view the war in Ukraine as an unfortunate, but far away, crisis. As an economist, I know the world is too connected for the U.S. to go unaffected. On Feb. 22, 2022, President Joe Biden warned Americans that a Russian invasion of Ukraine – and U.S. efforts to thwart or […]

Princeton R-5 School District website 2021 -2022

Princeton Board of Education approves school calendar for 2022-2023; changes time school is to begin and end

The Princeton R-5 Board of Education on February 14th approved the 2022-2023 school calendar and changed school hours. The first day of school will be August 23rd, and the last day is scheduled for May 19th, 2023. Snow days are built into the calendar that totals 1,109 hours. For the 2022-2023 school year, the day […]

Donald Kauerauf, the director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, speaks during a press conference at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on July 21, 2021

Before ouster, Missouri health director drafted a letter to senators that was never sent

(Missouri Independent) – On the Friday before a drawn-out confirmation battle ended with his ouster from office, Missouri state Health Director Donald Kauerauf wrote an impassioned letter meant to convince conservative legislators who were on the fence about his appointment.  The message: While he believed in vaccines and data and science, he didn’t believe in vaccine […]

American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall spoke at the organization’s 2022 annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia (photo provided by American Farm Bureau Federation)

American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ

(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]

Maysville science olym 2022 at NCMC

Science Olympiad results from the North Central Missouri College campus

Several high schools participated in Science Olympiad on the campus of North Central Missouri College in Trenton, Missouri, on Saturday, February 12, 2022. Schools participating for 2022 included Stanberry, South Harrison, King City, Northeast Nodaway, Maysville, Princeton, and Pattonsburg. Individuals from each team who placed first in their event(s) may advance to the state competition […]

school board meeting

Newtown-Harris Board of Education approves health insurance plan; hold discussion on coop for football

The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education approved the district health insurance provider on February 9th. The provider will be the Ozarks School Benefits Association, and the district will pay $575.82. Contract extensions were approved for Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis and Kindergarten through 12th Grade Principal Kim Palmer. Counselor Megan Brown’s resignation was approved. The board […]

Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri

Audio: Senator Roy Blunt expresses concern of police officer shortages

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt says he’s concerned about the shortage of law enforcement officers in Washington, D-C, and here in Missouri. The Republican says the U.S. Capitol Police force is about 200 officers below the authorized level of two thousand, but it’s not just a problem there.     The city of St. Louis and […]

Josh Hawley Courtesy of Missourinet

Senator Josh Hawley: Ukraine’s prospective NATO membership hurts U.S. interests, we must focus on China

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to seek clarity on the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine’s prospective NATO membership and to express concern that it would threaten U.S. interests by drawing attention away from the China threat. “Today, an increasingly powerful China seeks hegemony in the Indo-Pacific. If China succeeds, it […]

CRC or Cooperative Response Center website

Cooperative Response Center to expand to Kirksville, investing more than $1 million and creating 87 new jobs

Cooperative Response Center, a nationwide contact and alarm monitoring center, announced it will open a new facility in Kirksville, investing more than $1 million and creating more than 87 new jobs. The new facility will be CRC’s first Missouri location and allow the company to meet the increasing demand for its services. “This company’s new […]

Sam Graves Sam Graves official photo

Graves, Huffman introduce “Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act”

Congressman Sam Graves and Congressman Jared Huffman introduced the bipartisan Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act to rescue rural hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy and help put these critical care providers back on solid ground. “This isn’t a new problem. Our rural hospitals have been struggling to keep their doors open to patients for years,” said […]

Deer and Turkey together

Missouri Department of Conservation reports final deer harvest for the season at 293,670

Missouri’s 2021-2022 deer-hunting season ended Jan. 15 with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reporting a preliminary total deer harvest for the season of 293,670. Of the deer harvested, 143,049 were antlered bucks, 26,599 were button bucks, and 124,022 were does. Top harvest counties for the overall deer season were Franklin with 6,392 deer harvested, […]

Parson signing new legislation

Governor Parson signs Executive Order 22-1 establishing Missouri Early Childhood State Advisory Council

Governor Mike Parson signed Executive Order 22-1 to consolidate Missouri’s early childhood advisory groups into one with the creation of the Missouri Early Childhood State Advisory Council.  “Last year, we streamlined services to Missouri’s children and families by consolidating the state’s fragmented early childhood programs into the Office of Childhood. This year, we are further […]