Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from July 2021 to August 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,300 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in August 2021, […]
Tag: January
Missouri Republicans vow to push again for voter ID law
(Missouri Independent) – With several months to go before state lawmakers return for the 2022 legislative session, Republicans are promising to once again push to require photo identification to vote. Committees in the Missouri House and Senate held hearings Tuesday dominated by discussions of requiring a government-issued ID for both in-person and absentee voting. Secretary […]
Former Chillicothe resident sentenced to 20 years in prison on child pornography charges
Sentencing has been held for an Independence man on two counts of possession of child pornography in 2018. 33-year-old Zachary Ryan Kerns was sentenced in Daviess County Circuit Court to serve 20 years with the Missouri Department of Corrections. The sentence was listed as 10 years on each count with the terms served consecutively. Circuit […]
Study: Saint Louis University face mask policy reduced quarantines, COVID cases
(Missouri Independent) – Tying quarantine requirements to the Saint Louis University face mask requirement successfully reduced the number of students sent to isolation and helped cut COVID-19 infections this spring, according to a study published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under the university’s rules, students without masks who had close contact […]
“Simply unconscionable”: Advocates push Ameren to keep electric bills low during pandemic
(Missouri Independent) – Ameren Missouri should not increase its electrical rates for its customers as they struggle to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout, a coalition of environmental, veterans, and tenants advocates said Wednesday. The St. Louis-based utility filed with regulators in March seeking a rate increase worth nearly $300 million per year to pay […]
Leadership Northwest Missouri recruiting for 2022 class
While life is anything but typical right now, we understand the importance of continuing to offer opportunities to lead, connect and grow within the Northwest Missouri region. Leadership Northwest Missouri is looking for the right men and women to fill its 2022 class, promising those who join an experience they’ll never forget. Eight days over […]
Man pleads guilty to the sexual abuse of a two-year-old and a seven-year-old child in order to produce child pornography
A man pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography in connection with his sexual abuse of two minor children. According to court documents, Brian Anthony Gilbert, 33, of District Heights, Maryland, uploaded and advertised at least two video files of child pornography depicting an […]
COVID cases among children rising as Missouri Delta variant wave enters fifth month
(Missouri Independent) – Clay LaRue, superintendent of the Van Buren R-1 School District, made a tough decision Sunday. With COVID-19 cases spiking in Carter County in southeast Missouri, and many of those infections among very young children, LaRue shut down the district’s pre-kindergarten program for two weeks. He had previously directed faculty, staff, and students […]
Audio: FEMA providing financial aid for some COVID-19-related funerals
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing financial aid for some COVID-19-related funerals in Missouri. Bryon Boka, with FEMA, says the agency is covering up to $9,000 per person. The financial relief is just for people who paid the funeral costs for a loved one without life insurance policies or a prepaid funeral. […]
Advocates press for reform before student loan repayment deadline
In January, student loan borrowers will have to start paying off their loans again, as the pandemic-related pause on payment is set to expire. Now, a new report looks at ways to fix problems in the student loan system. Report co-author Michelle Dimino – senior education policy advisor at Third Way, a public policy think tank in […]
CDC issues Health Advisory on Ivermectin and the use of products containing Ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19
The CDC has issued a Health Advisory pertaining to the use of Ivermectin and the use of products containing Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19. Ivermectin is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA-approved prescription medication used to treat certain infections caused by internal and external parasites. When used as prescribed for approved indications, it […]
Missouri and Texas Attorney Generals prevail at Supreme Court in “Remain in Mexico” Case
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office have prevailed over the Biden Administration for a 3rd time in their lawsuit over the “Remain in Mexico” policy as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Missouri and Texas in a 6-3 denial of the Department of Justice’s appeal for an emergency stay. […]
Missouri man sentenced prison for tax evasion
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for tax evasion. Duane Dixon, 59, of Sedalia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to three years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Dixon to pay $639,733 in restitution to the IRS. On Feb. 2, 2021, Dixon pleaded guilty to one […]
Finalists announced for the Missouri National Guard Hall of Fame
The new Missouri National Guard Hall of Fame was formed by a group of Missouri Veterans in 2020. The new Hall of Fame will be physically located in Kirksville, MO. Missouri National Guard Hall of FamChairman John J. Sastry, Esq., CFP® announces a list of 10 Finalists for the Hall of Fame inaugural class. From […]
Missouri Steer Feedout accepting entries through October 10
Entries will be accepted through Oct. 10 for the next Missouri Steer Feedout, with weigh-in on November 2, says University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Eldon Cole. An entry consists of five or more head of steers born after January 1, 2021. At delivery, they should be weaned at least 45 days, weigh over 500 […]
USDA accepts 2.8 million acres for the Conservation Reserve Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the Conservation Reserve Program in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
Missouri pharmacy filled forged prescriptions
A Missouri pharmacy is prohibited from continuing its past practice of filling prescriptions without verifying whether they were issued by a DEA-authorized practitioner under a consent decree approved yesterday in federal court. Spalitto’s Pharmacy, L.C., of Kansas City, a retail pharmacy at 3801 Independence Avenue operated by Peter A. Spalitto as the pharmacist in charge, […]
Governor Parson announces $400 million plan to improve broadband infrastructure in Missouri
During a press conference at the Missouri State Fair hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau, Governor Mike Parson announced plans to deploy more than $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to increase broadband internet access, adoption, and assistance statewide. “Investing in our broadband infrastructure is critical to unlocking our full economic potential […]
Audio: Governor Parson does not think a special session is necessary to fund Medicaid expansion
Governor Parson says he does not think a special legislative session is necessary to work out Medicaid expansion funding. The governor does not think freezing spending will be necessary within any state departments to pay for the expansion. Many Republican lawmakers attempted to defund the expansion, arguing that the ballot measure did not […]