(Missouri Independent) – Legislative leaders of both parties said Tuesday that a special session is likely not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis and […]
Tag: Independence
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
Tractor Supply honors Brimson farmer and veteran with grant for small business
Tractor Supply Company, the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States, donated $100,000 to Farmer Veteran Coalition, including awarding $1,000 gift cards to 50 military veterans nationwide to support their agriculture businesses and $50,000 from the Tractor Supply Company Foundation to support additional programming and grants. Local farmer veteran Christine Chaney of Brimson, Missouri received the award for her business, C&P Farms. C&P Farms is […]
Florida company pays $100,000 into Missouri Investor Protection Fund; returns money to Missouri investor
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division issued a consent order against Florida-based WCO Holdings, LLC, and a top executive after allegedly defrauding investors in several states, including Missouri. Between February 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, WCO Holdings and managing member Alan K. Brooks sold $700,000 of unregistered, non-exempt promissory notes through unregistered Las […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol graduates 29 new troopers on Friday
Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces that 29 troopers graduated from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy on Friday, July 23, 2021. The ceremony began at 9 a.m. and took place on the South Lawn of the Missouri State Capitol. The public was invited to attend the event or watch […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Man from Breckenridge escapes injury during crash in Jackson County
A Breckenridge man escaped injury when the pickup he was driving was struck in the rear by another pickup while both were slowing in Jackson County traffic Tuesday afternoon. Twenty-four-year-old Misael Guzman Yepez of Kansas City received minor injuries and was taken to the Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence. The driver of the pickup that […]
Missouri State Highway Patrol to graduate 29 new troopers in July 23 ceremony
The superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces that 29 troopers will graduate from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy on Friday, July 23, 2021. The ceremony will take place on the South Lawn of the Missouri State Capitol and the public is invited. The graduation ceremony will be live-streamed on the Patrol’s YouTube channel. […]
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 […]
Fireworks, Food and Family: Cookout costs remain steady for Fourth of July
Much like Christmas and birthday wish lists, kids compile their own “wish list” of fireworks for the Fourth of July celebration. The youngest took inventory of firecrackers leftover from last year (aka, a stash he had hidden) and determined we need roman candles, bottle rockets, parachutes, and artillery shells. This year’s explosions and bright lights […]
Events on tap in Princeton for the Independence Day celebration this weekend
Events will be held in Princeton this weekend to celebrate Independence Day. The Princeton Chamber of Commerce will sponsor activities at the fairgrounds in Princeton on July 3. Watermelon will be served at 6 o’clock, and live music will start at 7 o’clock, which will include Jessie O’Dell and Tim Cason, Chuck Herdrich, and Sharel […]
Missouri Senate approves FRA, rejects push to ban Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan coalition handed anti-abortion activists a rare defeat in the Missouri Senate Friday night, rejecting a push to ban Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider as it passed a bill to secure billions for the state’s Medicaid program. And only a restatement of the state’s already existing ban on using public funds to […]
MoDOT planned road work in north Missouri for the week of June 28, 2021
The following is a list of general highway maintenance and construction work the Missouri Department of Transportation has planned in north Missouri for the week of June 28 – July 4, 2021. Most routine work zones will stop at noon Friday, July 2, and resume at 6 a.m. Tuesday, July 6, for the Independence Day […]
Missouri man arrested while attempting to sell stolen guns pleads guilty to illegal firearms
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing two firearms that he stole from a car and attempted to sell outside a nearby hotel. Edward J. Kelly Jr., 39, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. […]
Blunt congratulates 16 Missourians accepted to service academies
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) congratulated Missourians who accepted appointments to attend U.S. military service academies, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy. The following 16 individuals were nominated by Blunt: Aubrey Nicole Boatwright of Aurora Jackson Wesley Brawner of […]
Audio: Missouri’s FRA special session begins today at noon in Jefferson City
The governor has called a special legislative session to extend a key funding mechanism for Missouri’s Medicaid program, warning that failure to extend the FRA would cost Missouri 591-million dollars in the fiscal year 2022. The FRA is the state’s Federal Reimbursement Allowance. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz says lawmakers have been working on […]
Missouri man sentenced to 10 years in prison, without parole, for illegal firearm
A Missouri, man who led police officers on a chase in a stolen car, causing a collision with another vehicle, was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm. Cameron D. Smith, 25, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On Jan. 27, […]
Special session on tax crucial for Medicaid in doubt over Planned Parenthood amendment
(Missouri Independent) – Last Tuesday, Republicans appeared to have reached a fragile consensus around extending a tax crucial to Missouri’s Medicaid finances — opening the door for Gov. Mike Parson to call lawmakers into a special session this week. By Friday afternoon, June 18, that consensus appears to have been derailed, at least temporarily, by disagreements […]
Video: Biden signs law making Juneteenth a federal holiday. State offices will close in Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law legislation declaring a legal public holiday annually on June 19, the date of the end of slavery in the U.S. known as Juneteenth. “Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names—Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the […]