According to statistics reported to the FBI, 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2020. These assaults were reported to the FBI by 9,895 law enforcement agencies. Based on these reports, there were 4,071 more officers assaulted in 2020 than the 56,034 assaults reported in 2019. Data regarding these assaults were […]
(Missouri Independent) – The COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield Foods’ northern Missouri plant — the focus of a worker safety lawsuit that garnered national attention last year — resulted in two worker deaths and was worse than previously thought, according to newly obtained federal documents. Early on in the pandemic, the Sullivan County Health Department told local […]
(Missouri Independent) – A day after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson garnered national criticism for his push to prosecute a newspaper reporter who discovered a security flaw in a state website, a Democratic lawmaker is urging the governor to appoint members of a cybersecurity commission created by a bill he signed in July. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch informed […]
A registered sex offender compliance check in Chillicothe on October 14 resulted in the arrest of a 71-year-old man about an incident on October 7 in which a man allegedly exposed his genitals to a female child inside a business. The Chillicothe Police Department reports Police Chief Jon Maples and Sheriff Steve Cox conducted an […]
The Monarch Bioenergy Project was discussed at the Trenton Rotary Club meeting on October 14. The project is a joint venture between Smithfield Hog Production of Princeton and Roeslein Energy of Saint Louis. Smithfield General Manager Michael Rainwater and Roeslein Director of Communication Brandon Bulterz talked about the project, which allows methane gases generated by […]
(Missouri Independent) – On Tuesday, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alerted the state that Social Security numbers of school teachers and administrators were vulnerable to public exposure due to flaws on a website maintained by Missouri’s department of education. The newspaper agreed to hold off publishing any story while the department fixed the problem and […]
Three Missouri residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a scheme to use the identities of deceased people to file hundreds of false stimulus claims under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Warren W. Watkins, 39, and Marissia Jackson, 25, both of Kansas City, Mo., and Lamar K. Johnson, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri is calling for the Biden administration to intervene to block the state’s new emergency regulation that abortion advocates contend could cut off Medicaid funding for its clinics around the state. Without federal action, Planned Parenthood said it may need to turn to the courts. […]
An online tool is now available to help ranchers document and estimate payments to cover feed transportation costs caused by drought, which are now covered by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated the program this year to include feed transportation costs as well as […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Howell, Greene, and Texas counties. Jose I. Gonzales, 39, of West Plains, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On July 23, 2020, Gonzales pleaded guilty to […]
The Missouri Department of Conservation congratulates 15 new conservation agents upon their graduation from MDC’s 2021 Conservation Agent Training Academy. The agent class of 2021 took the Conservation Agent’s Oath during a special graduation ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 12 at Richardson Fine Arts Center on the Lincoln University campus in Jefferson City. MDC Director Sara Parker […]
A Marceline man charged with 43 counts of first-degree sex offenses had counts bound over to Division One of Linn County Circuit Court on October 13th. Online court information indicates the court found probable cause to believe Roger Cupp committed 32 counts that involved statutory rape, attempted statutory rape, and statutory sodomy. He was bound […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to receiving and distributing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Chandler Durham, 31, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. On Feb. 5, 2020, a detective with the Southwest Missouri Cyber […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 250 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Noah Frazier, 39, of Independence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to one count of conspiracy to distributed methamphetamine and one count of being […]
A Missouri, couple pleaded guilty in federal court to a scheme to smuggle counterfeit Disney DVDs into the United States and sell them on eBay. Tabitha Nicole Rodgers, 42, and her husband, Clint Travis Rodgers, 48, of Columbia, Missouri, pleaded guilty in separate appearances before Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr. Tabitha Rodgers pleaded guilty […]
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Missouri Acting State Director D Clark Thomas announced that the USDA is investing an additional $15,018,000 to Great Northwest Wholesale Water Commission for the development of a regional water distribution system. This funding brings USDA’s total investment for this project to $46,945,210. “Some areas of rural Missouri suffer significantly […]
(Missouri Independent) – A federal judge last week permanently blocked Missouri from enforcing a requirement that medical marijuana licenses go to businesses owned by residents of the state. Following a bench trial Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey agreed to grant a permanent injunction. Her written order has not yet been filed. News of the injunction […]
Saturday, October 16, 2021, has been designated National Move Over Day to remind drivers to help protect emergency personnel working on the side of the road. In 2020, three people were killed and 51 injured in the 231 traffic crashes involving parked emergency vehicles displaying emergency lights. Preliminary statistics indicate there have been 168 traffic […]
The State of Missouri has created and made available spending toolkits to help local governments identify allowable uses for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) local funds. “We want to assist our local partners in making strategic, responsible investments that will serve Missourians for generations to come,” Governor Mike Parson said. “Our first priority is to ensure taxpayer […]
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s securities division issued a cease and desist order against a Republic, Missouri hunting guide. Theodore Jay Eddings is required to show cause why civil penalties, restitution, costs, and other administrative relief should not be imposed against him after several investors were allegedly defrauded. Between April 2017 and October 2018, […]
