James Young, a Musical Theatre, Vocal Music, and Guitar teacher at the Johnson-Wabash 6th Grade Center in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, was selected by a committee of his peers and education partners across the state as the 2022 Missouri Teacher of the Year. He becomes the 53rd Missouri Teacher of the Year since the program’s inception […]
Tag: leader
Revised voting rights bill rolled out in U.S. Senate, with Manchin on board
(Missouri Independent) – Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a revamped voting rights bill that would expand voter registration as well as create nonpartisan redistricting committees, but the measure is still likely to face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will bring the legislation to the floor […]
Audio: Hawley calls for resignation of military leadership, honors Wentzville Marine on Senate floor
Missouri’s U-S Senator Josh Hawley spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday to honor the life of a Missouri Marine who was killed in Afghanistan last month during the U-S evacuation. Hawley also supported pulling out of the country but criticizes how the Biden administration handled it. Hawley introduced a resolution to […]
Missouri State Auditor finds need for better accounting controls and oversight at Marshall Public Schools
State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced today the results of a citizen-initiated audit of the Marshall Public Schools in Saline County. Galloway announced in February that a petition of qualified voters within the Marshall School District boundary triggered an audit by her office. The report, which gives a rating of “fair,” makes several recommendations to improve accounting controls and […]
Leadership Northwest Music Jam at Black Silo Winery quickly approaching
Country music star, Sunny Sweeney, will be headlining the first-ever Leadership Northwest Music Jam with ticket proceeds benefiting the Leadership Northwest Missouri program. The show will be hosted at Black Silo Winery in Trenton, MO on Saturday, September 25, 2021. Trenton local, Salem Croy, will be the special guest opening the music event. Tickets are […]
Missouri GOP vow to push back against Biden’s announced vaccine mandate
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Republicans assailed President Joe Biden’s push to require employees of private businesses to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing, vowing a legislative response and legal action. Gov. Mike Parson promised to “fight back against federal power grabs and government overreach” in a tweet Thursday afternoon, calling Biden’s plan “an […]
Missouri Governor condemns Biden’s vaccine mandate, vows legal fight against federal overreach
Governor Mike Parson announced that his administration will reject the Biden Administration’s attempt to enforce an unconstitutional, federal vaccine mandate for Missourians and private businesses. The Office of the Governor has been in communication with leadership from the Missouri General Assembly and the Attorney General’s Office to align resources for a pending legal fight. “This […]
Lawmakers demand hearings on Afghanistan withdrawal
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and eight colleagues sent a letter to Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) calling for hearings on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Specifically, the senators requested sworn testimony from senior military leaders, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General […]
Democrats demand LGBTQ exhibit return to Missouri Capitol or other exhibits be removed
(Missouri Independent) – If an LGBTQ history exhibit was removed from the Missouri Capitol because it didn’t get pre-approval from a specific board, then every exhibit on display that didn’t get approved must also be removed, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade argued in a letter to state officials on Wednesday. That would mean, she said, that […]
Audio: Mask requirement in school triggers Pleasant Hill School Board meeting to turn violent
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]