To mask or not to mask is a question that many local leaders have had to decide, including Tuesday night in Missouri, where that question fueled a rowdy response from some parents. Fights broke out, and one person was handcuffed after a school board meeting in western Missouri’s Pleasant Hill. KMBC-TV in Kansas City reports […]
Tag: lead
Missouri woman sentenced to 15 years in prison without parole for meth conspiracy
A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court for her role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine. Cassidy R. Clayton, 25, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On Oct. 31, 2019, Clayton pleaded guilty to participating in the drug-trafficking […]
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 […]
White House seeks at least $24 billion to aid states struck by natural disasters
(Missouri Independent) – The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events, including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires during […]
Judge orders no change – for now – in Missouri’s prisoner health care contractor
(Missouri Independent) – Work to bring a new contractor for prisoner health care services online in Missouri can continue, but the actual transition from Corizon, the current provider, won’t occur until at least early November, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ordered Tuesday. Green issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from canceling its […]
Audio: Two hundred plus attend vaccine mandate protest at Wright Memorial Hospital
It is estimated more than 200 people attended a rally near Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, to show support for personal choice involving whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Spokesperson Nathan Rorebeck said the rally was for the vaccine mandate involving employees for the Saint Luke’s Health System, which includes Wright […]
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 […]
New York man sentenced to 13 years in prison for sending child pornography to a man in Liberty, Missouri
A New York man was sentenced in federal court for sending images and videos of child pornography to a Liberty, Missouri man who in turn used them to harass the child victim. Joseph J. Balio, 36, of Utica, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 13 years and nine months in federal […]
Missouri woman pleads guilty to sex trafficking a child, faces 15 years in prison
A Missouri woman pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in the sex trafficking of a child. Danna Marie Rodriguez, 36, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of the sex trafficking of a minor. By […]
Bucklin man charged with 43 counts of child sex offenses pleads “Not Guilty”
A Bucklin man charged with 43 counts of first-degree sex offenses entered a plea of not guilty on September 7, when 54-year-old Roger Cupp waived formal arraignment. The court denied bond modification at this time, and a bond hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2021. The Highway Patrol previously reported Cupp was to be held […]
Missouri will become the last state to enforce federal mental health parity act
(Missouri Independent) – Under a new state law that went into effect late last month, Missouri will become the final state to enforce a federal law designed to ensure mental health care is covered by insurance providers the same as treatments for physical ailments. The provisions were included in House Bill 604, an omnibus insurance bill […]
November trial set for lawsuit challenging $1.4 billion Missouri prison health care contract
(Missouri Independent) – A trial will be held in early November to determine whether a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene will take over the contract for prison health care in the Missouri Department of Corrections. In a hearing Thursday, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green set Nov. 3 as the first day in the trial where current […]
Roadblocks facing Kevin Strickland’s innocence claim is nothing new for Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Kevin Strickland was hopeful Thursday was going to be his first step towards freedom after 40 years in prison. A new law that went into effect on Aug. 28 gave Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker a legal avenue to free Strickland, who she says is innocent and wrongly incarcerated. But opposition […]
Parson’s rationale for removing LGTBQ exhibit from Missouri Capitol called into question
(Missouri Independent) – Fireworks, this week over the sudden removal of an LGBTQ history exhibit from the museum in the Missouri Capitol caught the attention of John Cunning. For 24 years before he retired in 2018, Cunning oversaw the museum as part of his job at Missouri State Parks. So when he read Gov. Mike […]
Missouri 4-H’ers donate more than a half-ton of protein to fight food insecurity by donating pigs at Missouri State Fair
This summer, Missouri 4-H youths raised more than 1,100 pounds of protein for Missourians in need by donating pigs at the 2021 Missouri State Fair. The pork contributed through Missouri Farmers Care’s Hogs for Hunger program will provide 5,028 meals for food-insecure Missourians. Hogs for Hunger, previously known as the Missouri Farmers Care Pork Partnership, […]
Investigation into illegal dumping at Route A bridge in Grundy County continues
Grundy County authorities continue to investigate what is being described as an illegal trash dumping incident into the Weldon River at the Route A bridge in the northwest part of the county. On Thursday afternoon, Sheriff Rodney Herring and Deputies Cox and Ratliff were able to collect and remove the trash, including a refrigerator plus […]
Two from Missouri plead guilty to meth trafficking
Two Missouri residents have pleaded guilty in federal court to methamphetamine trafficking after they received a large package of methamphetamine shipped from California to distribute locally. Bryan Patton Tullous, 39, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr., to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Co-defendant Cassiopeia Marie Blaise, 36, […]
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 […]
Missouri fielding “high volume” of calls for rental assistance as evictions resume
(Missouri Independent) – Calls from tenants seeking emergency rental assistance are escalating in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that blocked a national eviction moratorium. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has 60 application processors working to distribute hundreds of millions in federal aid and has been fielding about 500 calls and responding to […]