Missouri 4-H continues its partnership with Feeding Missouri and the Missouri Farmers Care Drive to Feed Kids. To date, efforts have raised more than 400,000 meals to feed Missourians. The third annual food drive runs January through April to allow plenty of time for clubs to plan and carry out their activities, says Anne Reeder, […]
The Missouri House on Wednesday elected the first Speaker in state history from eastern Missouri’s Arnold. House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, was elected Speaker on his 44th birthday, with his wife Amanda and their five children in the chamber in Jefferson City. Education was a primary theme during Vescovo’s address to the House. He says he was […]
Four Missouri Department of Social Services workers have won a state government challenge for proposing a plan to support more foster children aging out of the system. Rene’ Brinkman, Shasta Miller, Bobbie Thomas, and Nicole Robinson head a unit in southeast Missouri helping older youth prepare to transition into independent adults. Brinkman says their plan […]
Missouri’s first elk-hunting season ended Sunday with all five of the hunters selected for permits harvesting bull elk during the firearms portion December 12-20. An archery portion ran October 17-25 with no harvests. The five Missouri hunters were selected for elk-hunting permits through a random drawing of more than 19,215 permit applications, including 33 for […]
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 […]
U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are introducing a bipartisan amendment to attach to must-pass legislation to be considered by Congress, which would provide $1,200 in direct payments to working-class adults and $500 to each of their children. This amendment, similar to what was passed in the CARES Act, would be attached to must-pass […]
The Missouri Board of Education voted Tuesday to avoid using 2021 standardized test results for state and federal accountability. Members still want the state’s K-12 public school students to take statewide tests next year, but they do not want the results to count against schools for funding and accreditation purposes. The move might lower the […]
The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted largely along party lines in favor of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. Missouri’s Democratic members voted in support and Republicans voted against the plan. GOP Congresswoman Ann Wagner did not vote on the measure. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, would remove […]
The Princeton Chamber of Commerce reports an appearance by Santa Claus is scheduled for the Princeton square on Saturday evening, December 12th. Kids are being invited to tell Santa what they want for Christmas from 5 o’clock until 6:30. Holiday musical performances are scheduled by the Princeton high school band and the choir. The Princeton […]
With just over 50 entries, the 74th Annual Holiday Parade “Home for the Holidays, sponsored by Hedrick Medical Center & HyVee, was carried out in true community tradition. The parade was announced live from the courthouse location on Washington by Dave Rogers and Bill Shaffer. Entries were judged on the use of theme, originality, and […]
Main Street Chillicothe will host the annual Memory Tree Lighting and Dedication Service on the evening of November 19th. Ornaments with cards inside to memorialize individuals will be placed on the tree in Silver Moon Plaza at 6 o’clock and remain there throughout the Holiday season. Attendees can park on Webster Street, in the courthouse […]
Governor Mike Parson changed rules on school quarantines to allow kids and staff to stay in school after COVID-19 exposure – if both people were wearing masks properly. He will not mandate masks statewide, but he is asking Missourians to QUOTE “Step up.” Parson says relaxing the mask quarantine guidelines will not only […]
Missouri schools continue to struggle with having enough teachers available to educate kids in traditional classrooms this year. The Show-Me State has had a chronic problem with teacher shortages, but COVID-19 has made the can of worms open even more. Missouri has about 70,000 pre-K through 12 teachers instructing roughly 900,000 public school students. Many […]
(Missouri Independent) – Despite dozens of students coming forward sharing allegations of abuse they suffered at Christian reform schools across Missouri, the state Department of Social Services said Monday that they have no oversight over such facilities. That’s because they’re unlicensed — and allowed to be under a Missouri law that exempts facilities operated by religious organizations. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Cortaiga Collins doesn’t know how much longer her childcare center will survive. Only about a dozen children have been attending regularly amid the pandemic. Under normal circumstances, she used to serve as many as 100. She’s already had to reduce the hours that Good Shepherd Preschool and Infant/Toddler Center in St. Louis […]
(Missouri Independent) – Two minutes into our interview, I counted five yawns as the young teacher from southwest Missouri caught herself, and apologetically assured me that my questions weren’t dull. “I just feel like I am working all the time,” she added. “I don’t know how I am going to keep doing this for the […]
The Livingston County Health Center has opened its kids’ curbside flu shot clinic Thursday, October 22nd to adults. Flu shots will be administered at the health center in Chillicothe from 1 to 4 o’clock by appointment. An additional clinic is scheduled for November 2nd from 9 to 4 o’clock. Contact the health center to schedule […]
Missouri K-12 public and private schools who want rapid COVID-19 tests must request them by next Wednesday, October 21st at noon. Applications should be submitted to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education). The department will then work quickly to get the BinaxNOW antigen testing to schools. The tests are not as uncomfortable as […]
The Missouri Association of School Nurses says school nurses are playing an even more critical role during the COVID-19 crisis. The state had about 1600 school nurses among Missouri’s more than 500 K-12 public school districts. Linda Neumann (pronounced newman), executive director of the association, says school nurses have been going above and beyond the […]
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending flexibilities to allow free meals to continue to be available to all children throughout the entire 2020-2021 school year. This unprecedented move is part of USDA’s unwavering commitment to ensuring all children across America have access to nutritious food […]
