For most Missourians, there’s no place like home for the holidays. Meredith Terpstra, with AAA, says with the pandemic still a concern, some 34-million fewer people will travel between December 23rd and January 3rd. The travel forecast is down 29-percent and it marks the first drop in year-end holiday travel since 2008, with […]
Tag: IRS
Missouri families face added pressure to meet basic needs
The ability to meet basic needs is out-of-reach for many Missouri families because of the pandemic. The challenges facing households with children are detailed in a new national report. This week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released findings for all states, using weekly Census survey data on such topics as food insecurity and housing instability. One […]
JC Penney closing another 15 stores, with one in Missouri included in latest announcement
JC Penney is closing another 15 stores nationwide next spring, including one in southern Missouri. The department store chain’s website shows the West Plains location is shutting down. The company closed its stores for two months when COVID-19 first came on the scene. It then chose to permanently shutter about 150 stores and file for […]
Missouri’s next shipment of COVID-19 vaccine to be short thousands of doses
Missouri is getting fewer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week than expected. The second shipment was supposed to include enough doses to vaccinate about 64,000 health care workers. During a Capitol briefing in Jefferson City, state Health and Senior Services Department Director Randall Williams says the federal government is giving Missouri about 25% to […]
Crowder State Park cancels Winter Hike Challenge due to COVID-19
Crowder State Park reports it is not holding the Winter Hike Challenge originally scheduled from December 18th through 27th. The cancellation is due to COVID-19. The staff of Crowder State Park and other Missouri State Parks also will not offer guided hikes on January 1st as usual. Instead, Missouri State Parks invites the public to […]
Missouri Day Marching Festival’s sweepstakes award presented to the Oak Grove Marching Band
The 24th Annual Missouri Day Marching Festival’s sweepstakes award has been presented to the Oak Grove Marching Band. Marching Festival Committee Representative Steve Maxey presented the Buddy and Karla Hannaford Sweepstakes Award to Oak Grove Director Nathan Long and members of the Panther Pride band. Oak Grove also received four Class Four awards: first in […]
Bethany man faces three felonies in Daviess County after allegedly letting 12-year-old drive UTV and crashing it
A Bethany man has been charged in Daviess County with three felonies after allegedly letting his 12-year-old son drive a utility terrain vehicle on December 5th, and the vehicle rolling on Beacon Avenue near 260th Street. Online court information shows 38-year-old Clifford McCrary has been charged with abuse or neglect of a child—no sexual contact, […]
Grundy County officers elected in November to be sworn in.
Third Judicial Circuit Judge Thomas Alley is to swear in Grundy County elected officers in the courthouse in Trenton. The ceremony will be in the third-floor courtroom on the morning of December 29th at 9 o’clock. Officers elected in November’s General Election include Don Sager as First District Commissioner; Brad Chumbley, Second District Commissioner; Rodney […]
Bridge on Highway 190 over Thompson River in Livingston County opens to two-way traffic
The bridge on Highway 190 over the Thompson River in Livingston County reopened to two-way traffic on December 18th. It was the 100th bridge opened through Governor Mike Parson’s Focus on Bridges Program created to repair or replace 250 of the state’s poorest bridges. It was the 21st bridge completed in the Missouri Department of […]
Bright Futures Trenton Advisory Board selects Champions and Partner of the Year
The Bright Futures Trenton Advisory Board has selected its Champions and Partner of the Year. Fred and Sara Stipkovits were selected as the Champions of the Year. The couple has sent backpacks, clothing, and school supplies. The couple also helped secure child-sized masks for Trenton R-9’s younger students. The Partner of the Year is the […]
Owner of hospice companies sentenced to 20-years in prison for $150 million health care fraud and money laundering scheme
A corporate executive has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison after his conviction related to falsely telling thousands of patients with long-term incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, they had less than six months to live and subsequently enrolling them in hospice programs. A federal jury in McAllen, Texas, convicted Rodney […]
Grundy County Commission and COVID-19 Relief Fund Task Force completes distribution of $1.5 million in COVID-19 funding
The Grundy County Commission and COVID-19 Relief Fund Task Force have distributed the $1.15 million in CARES Act funding the county received in early May. Presiding Commissioner Phillip Ray reports the funds were distributed to entities impacted by COVID-19 based on a formula that utilized assessed valuation and accounted for the portion of each taxable […]
Hamilton man charged with murder bound to Division One of Caldwell County Circuit Court
A Hamilton man charged with second-degree murder was bound over to the Caldwell County Circuit Court on December 15th. Thirty seven-year–old Frank Randall Allen Bostic is scheduled for arraignment on January 12th. He has also been charged in Caldwell County with domestic assault in the first degree with serious physical injury and in Daviess County […]
Minnesota man pleads “Not Guilty” to multiple charges in Daviess County
A Minnesota man accused of unlawfully going onto property and entering a house in Daviess County on December 14th entered a plea of not guilty on December 15th. Forty-one-year-old Greg Bryan Ortega of Saint Peter, Minnesota has been charged with felony burglary in the first degree, misdemeanor property damage in the second degree, and an […]
Bethany man pleads “Not Guilty” in Daviess County to charges of rape and sodomy
A Bethany man charged in Daviess County with the felonies of rape—second degree and sodomy or attempted sodomy—first degree entered a plea of not guilty December 16th. Forty-two-year-old Ryan Kampman waived formal arraignment, and the case was continued to February 10th for a plea or trial setting. Kampman has also been charged with felony domestic […]
Jury trials for two defendants set regarding shooting in Unionville
A jury trial has been scheduled in Sullivan County for a Columbia man facing two felonies after a shooting in Unionville last December. Online court information shows the trial for 23-year-old John Daniel Crawford Murry is scheduled to start on October 14th. A pre-trial conference is set for October 8th. The case was transferred from […]
Gallatin Board of Aldermen presented reports on utility repairs; approve liquor license for local business
Gallatin Public Works Director Mark Morey reported at the Gallatin Board of Aldermen meeting on December 14th on repairs to two water leaks. He said one was located on East Berry Street, and the other was repaired on Cedar Street. Crews had tried to locate the leak on Cedar Street but were unsuccessful. Rural Water […]
Wright Memorial Hospital to receive shipment of COVID-19 vaccine
Wright Memorial Hospital of Trenton plans to receive doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the next couple of weeks for staff. Marketing and Public Relations Director Jordan Ferguson reports the hospital is following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine distribution. The CDC recommends prioritizing health care workers and residents of […]
Grundy County Health Department Director Elizabeth Gibson on COVID-19 vaccine distribution
The COVID-19 vaccine is being distributed in Missouri. A website specifically about the vaccine in Missouri indicates there are three phases to availability. Phase 1A involves long-term care facility residents and staff and health care workers. Phase 1B involves high-risk individuals who are 18 to 64 years old, individuals who are at least 65, first […]
17 illicit massage businesses in Missouri shut down for alleged sex and human trafficking
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced an update to his office’s efforts to evict illicit massage businesses through the Hope Initiative. Since launching the initiative, 10 additional illicit massage businesses have either been evicted, are in the process of being evicted, or their eviction is likely. “Human trafficking is a global scourge that affects millions […]