A Missouri state trooper who was shot last month in the line of duty was a special guest at this week’s State of the State Address. Governor Parson recognized Trooper Colton Beck, who was shot by a suspect during a routine traffic stop. Trooper Beck was hit by gunfire which struck him in the face, […]
Current Sunnyview Nursing Home and Apartments Administrator Jerry Doerhoff has resigned and plans to retire. He says he will stay on as the administrator until the position is filled. Doerhoff has been the administrator at Sunnyview since October 2019. The Grundy County Nursing Home District Board of Directors interviewed candidates for the administrator position on […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt released the following statement addressing school districts that continue to illegally enforce mask mandates and quarantine orders despite the recent Cole County ruling. “School districts have never been given the authority by the legislature to enact public health orders like mask mandates or quarantine orders – the recent […]
(Missouri Independent) – Kansas and Missouri logged their warmest average December temperatures on record last month, according to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Average temperatures over the last half of 2021 were higher than they’ve ever been in either state — and across the country. Meanwhile, despite a devastating cold snap that forced […]
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education heard evaluation reports on multiple programs on January 11th. Trenton Middle School Principal Daniel Gott presented the Health Services Evaluation Report, which was submitted by school nurses Tasha McCall and Tyann Cox. Gott said health office visits for the 2020-2021 school year included 33 for preschool, 4,237 for kindergarten […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared unconvinced Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses, casting doubt on a key piece of the White House COVID-19 response. The justices seemed potentially more comfortable with another Biden administration rule to fight the virus that requires certain […]
(Missouri Independent) – If school districts want to take advantage of a lower interest rate on bonds, Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is requiring them to certify compliance with a recent court ruling targeting local health orders before his office will approve of the deal. Fitzpatrick detailed the decision he described as “unprecedented” in an interview Wednesday […]
St. Louis and County and Jackson County are returning legal fire after Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued to have the mask mandates effectively outlawed. A Missouri judge last month invalidated many orders, including mask mandates, from the state Department of Health and Senior Services. The counties are appealing the ruling. If an […]
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on December 14th heard about the implementation of the SafeDefend system for the district. Superintendent Mike Stegman reported employee training for the system was December 6th. Law enforcement and fire and rescue members were also invited to participate. On-site employees were fingerprinted into the system, and it is now […]
Members of the Trenton City Council Monday night heard about plans for Rapid Removal Disposal to change the collection date on two of its residential routes beginning in January 2022. A safety concern was expressed by the Jewett-Norris Library Director regarding motorists not halting for the 3 way stop at Main and Crowder, and the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Faced with over a year’s delay from the state social services department on implementing extended mental health care for new moms, a bipartisan effort now aims to expand health care coverage more broadly for low-income pregnant women. Legislation filed last week by Sens. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, and Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, would extend […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorney General Eric Schmitt will not appeal a consequential court ruling that strips powers from local health departments, despite a request from Missouri’s state health director to do so. In an email to The Independent, Schmitt’s spokesman said the attorney general’s office notified the Department of Health and Senior Services of its […]
Health advocates are pressing the U.S. Senate to pass the Build Back Better Act after it passed the House last month. The bill would improve Medicaid and CHIP, the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program, by offering 12 months of continuous coverage to children who qualify and making federal CHIP funding permanent. Casey Hanson, director of outreach and […]
Following the Department of Health and Human Services November 24 decision to rescind the HHS Office of Civil Rights’ authority to affirmatively protect Americans’ conscience rights pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Senator Hawley penned a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra demanding he reinstate the protections and provides answers on why the policy was rolled back. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Smithfield Foods agreed this week to pay the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration $13,494 to settle a citation for failing to protect its meatpacking employees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from exposure to the coronavirus last year, but the company didn’t admit it did anything wrong. As such, the settlement can’t […]
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly a month after a reporter identified a security flaw in a state website that exposed teachers’ social security numbers, the state announced Wednesday it was offering a year of credit monitoring services to hundreds of thousands of teachers whose personal information was put at risk According to the Department of Elementary […]
(Missouri Independent) – It’s clear that lead exposure is a problem for Missouri’s children. An estimated 4.5% have elevated levels of lead in their blood, more than almost any other state in the country. What’s far more difficult is figuring out where children are getting exposed to lead, said Carlton Waterhouse, President Joe Biden’s pick for […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson once again on Sunday took aim at a reporter who notified the state of a security flaw in one of its websites, questioning the journalist’s motives and noting he’d support the prosecution of any state employee found to have assisted the reporter. In a TV interview with Scott Faughn, […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, the program has removed more than […]
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, entering October, said there was a good chance temperatures and precipitation in this area would average above normal for the month. That prediction turned out to be accurate. Rainfall in Trenton totaled 8.78 inches at the water plant where readings are taken. The North Central Missouri College Barton […]
