The chief executive officer of a California-based medical device company was indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud investors by making false and misleading statements about the purported development of a new COVID-19 test, leading to millions of dollars in investor losses. Keith Berman, 67, the CEO of […]
(Missouri Independent) – The head of Missouri’s medical marijuana program testified under oath that a grand jury subpoena his agency received late last year was likely connected to an FBI investigation in Independence. The revelation by Lyndall Fraker, director of medical marijuana regulation at the Missouri Department of Health and Seniors Services, is the first […]
(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(Missouri Independent) – Missouri voters on Tuesday repealed a constitutional amendment they enacted in 2018 that would have required legislative districts be drawn to ensure partisan fairness. They replaced it with one that critics contend could forgo the use of total population to draw districts and instead exclude all non-voters, specifically children and non-citizens — tilting the political […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri family that was denied a license to grow medical marijuana alleged in court this week that outside groups and individuals had undue access to top state officials — and that access led to an opaque process and contributed to the decision to cap the number of licenses granted. To buttress […]
(Missouri Independent) – State governments are unique political bodies that allow for experimentation in how rules and laws affect political outputs. As Justice Louis Brandies pointed out – states are laboratories of democracy. State governments have broad jurisdiction to “tweak” institutional rules and laws. Through this system of government, we can observe the aftermath of […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri family that sued after being denied a medical marijuana license is alleging the state department of health and Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office illegally concealed documents and violated open records laws in order to undercut their lawsuit. The allegations — which are included in a 28-page motion seeking sanctions against […]
Both sides in the debate on Missouri’s Amendment Three November ballot measure presented their case to voters Wednesday evening, in a virtual forum hosted by Springfield’s Drury University. Missourians approved “Clean Missouri” in 2018, which required a nonpartisan demographer to draw state legislative districts. Amendment Three transfers that responsibility to governor-appointed bipartisan commissions. State Sen. […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released an audit of Jackson County government that found a lack of transparency in how the county spent millions of taxpayer dollars on legal, lobbying, and other professional services. The audit identified $2.7 million in contracts that were not competitively bid and another $1.3 million in contracts that went years […]
The Missouri Court of Appeals says part of the summary language for the Amendment 3 November ballot measure has “major problems” and needs new wording. In a written court decision Monday, the three-judge panel says the description, written by the Republican-controlled Legislature, “fails to acknowledge” what the amendment would do, which is to “substantially modify, and reorder […]
Cole County Judge Pat Joyce has ordered the ballot summary in a Cleaner Missouri legislative redistricting plan must change. In a judgment issued Monday, Joyce says the Amendment 3 ballot description is “misleading, unfair, and insufficient” and therefore in violation of state law. The Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature passed the proposed Constitutional amendment, SJR38, this year, […]
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office announces it has partnered with residents to give away 10 new bicycles through a contest. Young residents who live in Livingston County may enter in their respective age groups. Four bicycles will be given away July 17th: one for a boy and one for a girl from two to four […]
