A draft 2022-2026 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program that focuses on taking care of the state’s existing transportation system was presented today to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. A 30-day public review and comment period began on Wednesday, May 5) Missouri Department of Transportation Planning Director Eric Curtit told commissioners the draft STIP includes 1,417 […]
The House and Senate will soon confer on a bill to boost protections for police officers and to boost penalties for repeated protesting in public streets. Senate Bill 26, deemed “the public safety bill of the session” by supporters, also comes with an array of amendments tacked on by the House Tuesday. The […]
DISCLAIMER: This article is a commentary. The statements and opinions contained in the article are those of the author, Tim Gibbons. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, staff, management, or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – Last month, Missouri Rural Crisis Center held a telephone town […]
It has been a rainy spring, and that, coupled with warmer temperatures, means seasonal growth on Missouri roadways. The Missouri Department of Transportation urges motorists to use caution when encountering tractor mowers near the shoulder of interstates and other busy roadways beginning this month and throughout the summer. “Even the most aggressive warning lights and […]
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today announced that MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, has reached more than $4 billion in assets under management, a major milestone for the state’s 529 plan. “As Treasurer, one of my most important jobs is helping Missourians prepare for their financial future,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “Reaching $4 billion in […]
(Missouri Independent) – With the Missouri Senate poised for what promises to be a lengthy debate over Medicaid expansion, legislative Democrats said Tuesday that the fight over funding will move to the courts if lawmakers don’t approve money for the new coverage. During a rally on the Capitol Building lawn, Senate Democrats promised to push […]
The fight to expand Medicaid coverage is not over yet in Missouri. The state Senate is expected to work Wednesday and Thursday on the 34-billion dollar state budget, which could include an effort to fund expansion. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected a compromise proposal that would have funded expansion on a smaller scale. […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a new initiative, Project Wave Breaker, to disrupt the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States. Project Wave Breaker will direct interdiction, enforcement, and outreach efforts to high-impact areas to disrupt the flow of fentanyl in and around the United States. The initiative will also employ analytical intelligence assets […]
A Missouri State University survey of eight-thousand K-12 public school teachers says 1 in 10 educators plan to leave the field this year. Doctor Jon Turner, an associate professor at the university, says about 62-percent of those likely to quit point to challenges caused by the coronavirus. He says rural teachers have weathered the pandemic […]
The Missouri House and the Senate Appropriations Committee have voted against Governor Parson’s request to fund Medicaid expansion. Parson, a Republican, asked for more than 100-million dollars to fund the voter-approved measure that would allow other 275-thousand low-income adults to become eligible for government-funded healthcare. During a press conference at the Missouri Capitol, Governor Parson […]
(Missouri Independent) – After hours of fierce debate that spanned the course of two days, the Missouri House on Wednesday signed off on a prohibition on transgender students participating on the sports teams that match their gender identity. The provision, offered as an amendment by Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, to House Bill 1141 was adopted by a vote […]
The Biden administration has taken the first steps in the regulatory process to eliminate the domestic gag rule, which forced more than 900 reproductive-health clinics nationwide to leave the Title X family-planning program and lose major amounts of funding. Rachel Fey, vice president for policy and strategic partnerships at the contraceptive-access advocacy group Power to Decide, said the […]
(Missouri Independent) – On the heels of a historic cold snap that left thousands across the Midwest without power, Kansas and Missouri residents could soon reap the benefits of a massive high-powered transmission line delivering renewable energy. Grain Belt Express, a project a decade in the making, is starting to acquire land along its route spanning […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Bust Up Big Tech Act, new legislation to restore accountability and competition to Big Tech. Senator Hawley’s bill would break up Big Tech companies seeking to dominate multiple industries simultaneously, by banning companies like Amazon from marketing their own retail goods alongside those of other sellers or providing online hosting or cloud services to an ever-growing swath of the internet—including competitors. The […]
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a bill to remove the antitrust exemption that has been in place for Major League Baseball to subject them to existing law. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), with over 20 cosponsors, has produced companion legislation in the House. “MLB […]
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 […]
The Missouri House has passed a bill that would remove the limits on how much colleges in the state can increase their tuition. Schools are currently allowed to raise tuition to compensate for any cuts in state aid and they are capped at five percent plus the inflation rate. Lawmakers are divided over […]
The Missouri Corn Scholarship Committee is pleased to award a 2021 Missouri Corn Scholarship to Brett Montgomery of Brookfield. Montgomery will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Missouri Corn Growers Association and the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council to help pay for his continuing education. Brett is the son of Ryan and Valerie Montgomery. He is […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, and several other members of President Biden’s administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) enacted by President Trump and work toward combating migrant trafficking, securing the border, and ending the border […]
With the requested $300,000 in asphalt sales added to budgeted revenues, the Trenton City Council Monday night approved the amended city budget for the fiscal year beginning May 1. The additional sales of asphalt raise the expected total sales to $1,300,000. Sales from Trenton’s new asphalt plant last year generated nearly $1,800,000 with expectations for […]
