Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released a citizen-requested audit of Excelsior Springs, located in western Missouri. The audit, which received an overall rating of “fair,” recommended improvements to several of the city’s financial practices to make sure taxpayer dollars are used effectively. “Taxpayers asked for this audit to ensure the city is utilizing their […]
Missouri farmers can submit two free tests to beat the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) by contacting their county University of Missouri Extension center or the SCN Diagnostics laboratory. Testing soil before planting soybean is vital, says MU Extension plant pathologist Kaitlyn Bissonnette. SCN is the No. 1 soybean disease in the U.S. and Canada, with […]
(Missouri Independent) – Help may be coming for Missouri homeowners behind on their mortgage payments because of COVID-19 income losses. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday added $150 million in federal mortgage assistance funds to the supplemental spending bill for the current fiscal year, one of several new sections using money from pandemic relief bills passed by Congress […]
Missouri non-farm payroll employment recovered strongly in March 2021 after a loss in February, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 15,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in March 2021, down from 4.3 percent in […]
Missouri 4-H’ers across the state need generous donors to give a hand in the final weeks of the 4-H Feeding Missouri food drive, which ends April 30. To help reach its 2021 goal, Missouri 4-H asks Missourians to donate online at this link or text “4HFM2021” to 44-321 to donate. “Every $1 donated buys 10 […]
A Washington man pleaded guilty to defrauding Tyson Foods Inc. (Tyson) and another company (Company 1) out of more than $244 million by charging them under various agreements for the purported costs of purchasing and feeding hundreds of thousands of cattle that did not actually exist. According to court documents, Cody Allen Easterday, 49, of […]
(Missouri Independent) – The House Budget Committee will submit its revisions to Gov. Mike Parson’s $34.1 billion state operating budget to the full House this week without the benefit of clear guidelines for spending new infusions of federal cash. The committee must also decide whether and how it will use a record general revenue surplus. The fund’s cash balance […]
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased in January 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 5,900 jobs over the month, but over-the-year job losses were back above 100,000 following benchmark adjustments to 2020 estimates. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent […]
University of Missouri Extension forage researchers studied the effects of treated urea products on soil fertility, forage yield, and quality. This information can help producers control risk on nitrogen investments, improve tall fescue forage yields and improve water quality. MU Extension specialist Ryan Lock led the study to evaluate commercial nitrogen products in unbiased, replicated […]
(Missouri Independent) – The plan for distributing money directly to Missouri counties in the current version of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill is pretty simple – each gets $195.44 per person. But for cities, instead of a formula based on population, Congress divvies up the money using the method for determining Community Development Block Grant allocations. […]
Forage producers can learn to improve pastures, beef herds, and profits at upcoming schools hosted by the University of Missouri Extension. MU Extension specialists will join other experts from across the country to tell how to renovate Kentucky 31 toxic tall fescue pastures at an in-person school in Mount Vernon. The one-day school is 8:45 […]
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased again in December 2020, but a large increase in the civilian labor force sent unemployment higher. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 10,400 jobs over the month, and over-the-year job losses from COVID-19 shutdowns fell below 100,000. However, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 1.3 percentage points from November […]
The Missouri labor market showed further improvement in November 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 17,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from October 2020 to November 2020, and the civilian labor force increased more than 23,000. However, the labor market still showed substantial losses from […]
Missouri corn growers should scout for an emerging crop disease, tar spot, in 2021, says University of Missouri Extension plant pathologist Kaitlyn Bissonnette. She identified tar spot in four far northeastern Missouri counties: Scotland, Lewis, and Clark in 2019 and Marion in 2020. She expects it to spread in the northern half of Missouri and […]
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 […]
The Missouri labor market showed further improvement in November 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 17,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from October 2020 to November 2020, and the civilian labor force increased more than 23,000. However, the labor market still showed substantial losses from […]
The U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and six other federal law enforcement agencies announced the completion of the third annual Money Mule Initiative, a coordinated operation to disrupt the networks through which transnational fraudsters move the proceeds of their crimes. Money mules are individuals who assist fraudsters by receiving […]
Economist Ernie Goss says this year’s increase in Missouri farm income is leading to an increase in farmland prices. Goss, an economics professor at Creighton University in Omaha, says rising global oil prices are also generally good news for the state’s ethanol industry. Goss surveys rural bankers monthly as part of his Rural […]
The Missouri labor market showed mixed results in October 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 6,400 jobs over the month, but over-the-year job losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic remained stubbornly high. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from September 2020 to October 2020, but the civilian labor force decreased […]
(Missouri Independent) – There’s no point trying to spin it: While the 2020 election was a mixed verdict nationally, with Republicans gaining congressional seats and minimizing Senate losses even as Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump, the Missouri verdict was unequivocal. It started atop the ticket with Trump’s dominance. He and Gov. Mike Parson set […]
