Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program with higher payment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership Program […]
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021 to require the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to any potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of the Covid pandemic. “For over a year, anyone asking questions about the Wuhan Institute of Virology has […]
The Putnam County R-1 School District recently recognized Tori Guffey as the Career and Technical Education Student of the Month for April 2021. Student winners are chosen by the vocational faculty based on a set of criteria that includes: attendance, grades, cooperation with fellow students and teachers, enthusiasm for subject(s), attitude both in the classroom […]
A Milan man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party earlier this month has been charged with four felonies. Twenty-four-year-old Zakaria Zouon faces charges of second-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree rape or attempted rape, second-degree rape, and second-degree statutory rape. Bond was set at $75,000 cash only. A probable cause statement from Sullivan County […]
Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy and Health Center of Trenton provides free and confidential services to residents in the nine-county Green Hills area. Services include pregnancy testing, limited first trimester ultrasounds, and pregnancy, prenatal, and parenting education. Executive Director Rachael Brothers says the center also provides a fatherhood education program. She explains that […]
The Missouri House has voted unanimously to expel Lee’s Summit Representative Rick Roeber. The House Ethics Committee released an investigative report this week about allegations that Roeber, a Republican, abused his four adult children when they were younger. It says two of the children were allegedly sexually abused and two others reported being physically abused. […]
A Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for his leadership role in a multi-million dollar conspiracy that distributed more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in the metropolitan area. “This heavily-armed drug dealer was still on court-supervised release for a prior federal drug-trafficking conviction while he was engaged in this drug trafficking conspiracy,” said […]
Grundy County received a grant earlier this year to pay for an upgrade of its 911 system. Emergency Management Director Glen Briggs reports the state provided 60% of the funding, and 40% was local money. Trenton Police Chief Rex Ross says the system belongs to Grundy County, but the police department provides manpower […]
Wright Memorial Physicians’ Group in Trenton is opening COVID-19 vaccinations to all area residents, 18 and older. Previously, the clinic was only vaccinating established patients. “Our first priority was to ensure our established patients had the opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Shane Lynch, Practice Manager, Wright Memorial Physicians’ Group. “We’re now ready to move on […]
The Jamesport City Council on April 19th approved purchasing fireworks and set the time for the city’s sesquicentennial celebration. Five hundred dollars worth of fireworks will be purchased for an Independence Day celebration scheduled to be at the city park on July 5th. The city council agreed the best time to hold the sesquicentennial celebration […]
A jury trial on a felony stealing charge for Garland Joseph Nelson of Braymer has been postponed. The Johnson County Circuit Court Office would not say why the trial was postponed. The office reports the jury was to be picked on April 20th, but no jury was chosen due to the postponement. Potential jurors came […]
(Missouri Independent) – A third attempt to get a bill that funds one-quarter of Missouri’s Medicaid program through the state Senate failed Tuesday night when a new anti-abortion issue was injected into the legislation. Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, brought the bill that has been in limbo since late March to the floor just a few […]
The Biden administration has taken the first steps in the regulatory process to eliminate the domestic gag rule, which forced more than 900 reproductive-health clinics nationwide to leave the Title X family-planning program and lose major amounts of funding. Rachel Fey, vice president for policy and strategic partnerships at the contraceptive-access advocacy group Power to Decide, said the […]
The Highway Patrol reports a Unionville woman sustained minor injuries when a car slid into the path of a sports utility vehicle due to slush on the road the morning of April 20th. An ambulance transported SUV driver 35-year-old Ashley Jones to Putnam County Memorial Hospital in Unionville. No injuries were reported for the car […]
Mercer County Public Water Supply District has issued a precautionary boil water advisory following repairs made Monday to a water main break. Affected are the rural water customers on both sides of Highway 136. The advisory area extends from Princeton (at 65 and 136) east to the intersection of Highway 136 and Fireworks Avenue. The […]
(Missouri Independent) – On the heels of a historic cold snap that left thousands across the Midwest without power, Kansas and Missouri residents could soon reap the benefits of a massive high-powered transmission line delivering renewable energy. Grain Belt Express, a project a decade in the making, is starting to acquire land along its route spanning […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri House Ethics Committee voted unanimously on Monday to recommend Rep. Rick Roeber be expelled from the Legislature. The committee, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, said evidence obtained over the course of its four-month investigation confirmed Roeber had sexually abused two of his children in 1990 when they […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Bust Up Big Tech Act, new legislation to restore accountability and competition to Big Tech. Senator Hawley’s bill would break up Big Tech companies seeking to dominate multiple industries simultaneously, by banning companies like Amazon from marketing their own retail goods alongside those of other sellers or providing online hosting or cloud services to an ever-growing swath of the internet—including competitors. The […]
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced his office recently approved for circulation two initiative petitions amending the Missouri Constitution. Before circulating petitions for signatures, state law requires that groups must first have the form of their petition approved by the secretary of state’s office. The office then has 23 days after the form of the […]
North Central Missouri College 2021 Commencement will be held on May 8, 2021, with two ceremonies; the morning ceremony beginning at 9:00 a.m. honoring all associate degrees and certificates that are non-nursing and the afternoon ceremony beginning at 1:00 p.m. honoring nursing certificates, degrees, and pinnings. Both commencement ceremonies will be held at the Ketcham […]
