Monarch Bioenergy Gas Plant on Smithfield Farm

Smithfield’s natural gas project implements manure-to-energy technology across northern Missouri’s hog farms

Monarch Bioenergy, a joint venture between Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy, has finished installing manure-to-energy technology on nearly all of Smithfield’s Northern Missouri hog finishing farms. The new technology captures methane emissions and converts them into carbon-negative renewable natural gas to power homes, vehicles and businesses. “We are delighted to reach this exciting milestone, which is a significant step toward […]

Chautauqua In The Park

Chautauqua in the Park seeking volunteers

The 36th Annual Chautauqua in the Park will be held September 11-12, 2021 at Simpson Park in Chillicothe, Missouri. This annual event, sponsored by the Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chillicothe Area Arts Council, and presented by Hedrick Medical Center, has a wide variety of entertainment, activities, artists, crafts, and food. “This annual […]

Cole County Judge Jon Beetem (Screenshot courtesy KRCG-TV)

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 […]

Wolfner Library

Secretary of State announces Bicentennial-Day release of the State of Missouri Constitution in audiobook format

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, in commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of Missouri’s entry into the United States, has announced that the Constitution of the State of Missouri will be released in audiobook format on August 10, 2021. This 13-hour recording, produced by the Wolfner Talking Book and Braille Library, is the first audio version […]

Missouri seeks to boost prizes in local vaccine incentive program

(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]

Desks in classroom of school or education or student

Missouri agency begins implementation of new law to regulate unlicensed boarding schools

(Missouri Independent) – Unlicensed youth residential facilities across Missouri are expected to submit materials notifying the state of their existence by mid-October, but background checks for facility staff required under a new law likely won’t be completed by that time. That’s because the Department of Social Services (DSS) is still working to make hires in […]

Coronavirus Update

New cases of COVID-19 reported in seven area counties

The Sullivan County Health Department, on the evening of August 6, confirmed 11 more COVID-19 cases, which brought the total to 1,028. Forty-six cases were active. There had been 17 COVID-19-related deaths reported for Sullivan County. Four COVID-19 cases were added in Linn County since August 3. The health department, on the afternoon of August 6, reported […]

MDC is offering Free Hunter Education Classes during August

Department of Conservation offering free hunter education classes in northwest Missouri during August

Autumn hunting seasons are approaching quickly. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering free upcoming hunter education skills sessions for hunters to earn the safety certificate needed to obtain hunting permits. These sessions will teach and test participants for safe firearms handling and basic hunting skills. The upcoming sessions include: From 4 to 8 […]