Missouri Governor Mike Parson

Audio: Parson responds to teachers union president saying it is going to “try” to open K-12 schools this fall

Governor Parson is responding to the American Federation of Teachers President saying it is going to “try” to open K-12 schools this fall.     The organization’s President, Randi Weingarten, made the comment and said it is going to keep students and teachers safe while trying to move through a political battlefield. On Fox News, […]

Asian Longhorn Tick

Asian Longhorned Tick confirmed in Missouri

The Missouri Department of Agriculture, working in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and Missouri State University, has confirmed the first finding of an Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) in Missouri. Missouri becomes the 16th state with a presence of the tick species, following the first confirmed report of the Asian […]

Power Outage News Graphic

Fuel shortages drove February blackouts, Southwest Power Pool investigators find

(Missouri Independent) –  Rolling outages that left thousands without power in February were driven overwhelmingly by fuel shortages — especially in natural gas, executives with the Southwest Power Pool said Monday. This winter sustained frigid temperatures across the Midwest and South forced huge demand for energy while the weather made generators struggle to keep up. The Southwest Power […]

Drug distributors Johnson and Johnson reach settlement in opioid case with state of Missouri

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today announced that his office has received a term sheet from Johnson and Johnson and multiple distributors (McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Cardinal Health), setting the stage for the largest victim-centric settlements the State of Missouri has ever seen and tentatively securing roughly just over half a billion dollars of funding […]

Coronavirus Concerns

Adair County becomes “COVID-19 Hotspot” according to Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry have created COVID-19 Hotspot Advisories in light of the rapidly rising case counts in north-central and southwest Missouri, including Adair County which confirmed another 11 cases bringing their case count to 2670. The Hotspot Advisories are designed to keep […]

Audio: Starting in August, Missouri’s colleges and universities will no longer have a limit on annual tuition hikes

A new law beginning in August will allow Missouri’s colleges and universities to charge more intuition. Excelsior Springs State Representative Doug Richey sponsored the language that removes a limit on annual tuition increases. He tells Missourinet he does not expect schools to charge unreasonable tuition rates.     Richey says the change will also allow […]

Intelligance Community News Graphic

Coalition of lawmakers introduce Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act

Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, helped introduce the Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act of 2021. Currently, active-duty members of the military can deduct certain moving expenses from their federal taxes, but that benefit does not extend to intelligence community professionals. The bipartisan bill would expand the […]

Sam Graves Sam Graves official photo

Lawmakers successfully push White House to drop proposal that would hurt small cities and rural communities

Lawmakers are celebrating the decision to drop a proposal before the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to redefine a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The proposal would have raised the threshold for an MSA from 50,000 residents to 100,000, which would have eliminated 144 areas from the designation, including St. Joseph. The move to drop […]

Linn County Prosecuting Attorney Shiante McMahon speaks during an April 23 mock trial of the Big Bad Wolf put on for students in local schools. (Photo courtesy Linn County Prosecuting Attorney's Office via Facebook)

Linn County roiled by prosecutor’s charge of racism, sexism in Marceline Police Department

(Missouri Independent) – When Linn County Prosecuting Attorney Shiante McMahon saw a photo of one of her campaign shirts defaced with obscene, racist, and sexist writing — and learned it had been on display in the headquarters of the Marceline Police Department — she decided a complaint with the city wouldn’t do any good. So she posted the photo […]