COVID-19 Delta Variant Final

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services urge continued vaccination as close monitoring of Delta variant continues

Missouri is experiencing a rise in individuals contracting the Delta variant (B.1.617.2, first detected in India) of the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. It was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday that the Delta variant has been reclassified as a “variant of concern” in the United States. The Missouri Department of […]

Missouri Governor Mike Parson

Parson set to call special session to extend Federal Reimbursement Allowance with ban on certain contraceptives

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and extend […]

Natural Gas Meter (Photo by Tim Carpenter-Kansas Reflector via Missouri Independent)

After winter cold snap drove up natural gas prices, utilities grapple with who should pay

(Missouri Independent) – Penalties that Spire Missouri issued to suppliers who failed to provide natural gas during a February cold snap that forced power outages across the Midwest could drive bills for hospitals, schools, and businesses to astronomical levels, according to a trio of complaints pending before state regulators. During the worst of the cold snap in February, […]

Vehicle Fire

Chillicothe Fire Department responds to vehicle fire

The Chillicothe Fire Department noticed a vehicle fire on Wednesday afternoon, June 16 on the way back to the station from a grass fire. The vehicle was at 1025 Washington Street. The fire department reports the hazmat truck pulled alongside the vehicle and started extinguishing it. Flames engulfed the interior of the vehicle, and fire had […]

Hazard Mitigation Plan

Grundy County Hazard Mitigation Plan approved by FEMA

The Grundy County Hazard Mitigation Plan has been approved. The plan was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on June 3 after it was submitted on April 28. The plan’s expiration date is June 3, 2026. FEMA defines hazard mitigation as “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human […]

USDA Logo

USDA opens signup for CLEAR30, expands pilot to be nationwide

Landowners and agricultural producers currently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program now have a wider opportunity to enroll in a 30-year contract through the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers initiative, called CLEAR30. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expanding CLEAR30, a water-quality focused option available through CRP – to be nationwide now. Interested producers with […]

Disabled Veterans graphic

Owner of school sentenced to prison for defrauding program dedicated to rehabilitating disabled military veterans

A Maryland man was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution for defrauding a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program dedicated to rehabilitating military veterans with disabilities.  According to court documents, Francis Engles, 65, of Bowie, was the owner and operator of Engles Security Training School (Engles […]

Economic Development

Department of Economic Development awards $15.8 million for community development projects statewide

The Department of Economic Development announced it will award more than $15.8 million to 38 recipients through its Community Development Block Grant Program to help communities with infrastructure improvement and other projects across Missouri. “Strengthening infrastructure and improving our workforce remains my administration’s top priorities,” said Governor Mike Parson. “Whether repairing roads, upgrading facilities, or […]

Human Trafficking Graphic

Lawmakers introduce Bill to improve housing services for survivors of human trafficking

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Dick Durbin (Ill.), as well as U.S. Representatives Joyce Beatty (Ohio) and Ann Wagner (Mo.), introduced legislation that would commission a study reviewing current homelessness and housing services for survivors of trafficking. “We can […]