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USDA invests $222 million in rural community infrastructure

 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is investing $222 million to build and improve critical community facilities (PDF, 729 KB) in 44 states, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. This community infrastructure funding will benefit nearly 2.5 million people in rural communities. It also […]

Plane or airplane fighting a wildfire

Climate funds in infrastructure bill aimed at drought, wildfires, floods

(Missouri Independent) – The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill isn’t just about roads and bridges — it also spends billions to address wildfire, drought, flooding, and other effects from climate change, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The $1.2 trillion measure, which is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after the House cleared it last week, includes pay […]

Cargo or container ship docked for unloading

White House says “Easing of supply chain problems to start with backed-up seaports”

(Missouri Independent) – The first seaport to improve its facilities following passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill could be in Savannah, Ga., a senior Biden administration official said Tuesday. President Joe Biden has yet to sign the measure, which Congress sent to Biden’s desk late last week, funding improvements in highways, transit, ports, waterways, airports, […]

Person at sink filling drinking water tumbler

Database shows Missouri residents what contaminants are in their drinking water

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri and Kansas residents may be drinking unsafe amounts of arsenic, nitrates, and other chemicals — even if their provider is meeting federal drinking water requirements, according to data published Wednesday by an environmental group. The Environmental Working Group released its most up-to-date tap water database, compiling testing information for water utilities across the […]

Medicaid

Audio: Close to 13,000 people have been enrolled in expanded Medicaid

Close to 13,000 people have been enrolled in expanded Medicaid in Missouri, according to the Department of Social Services.     In 2020, a majority of Missouri voters passed a ballot measure to expand the government-funded health insurance to about 275-thousand low-income adult residents. The benefits include primary and preventive care, emergency services, prescription drugs, […]

(Official portrait of President Joe Biden in the White House (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Biden pitches new $1.75 trillion spending blueprint to Democrats that drops paid family leave

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden is meeting with congressional Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday morning to pitch lawmakers on a new slimmed-down framework for what would be included in a massive social reform package, according to senior administration officials. The $1.75 trillion blueprint that Biden is presenting to Democrats includes a universal pre-K program for 3-and-4 […]

Kids age 5 to 11 next in line for COVID-19 vaccines as White House rolls out plans

(Missouri Independent) – Smaller needles. Redesigned shipments to ease the storage needs in pediatricians’ offices. And enough vials of the COVID-19 vaccine to inoculate the 28 million U.S. children between ages 5 and 11. Those are among the plans announced by the White House on Wednesday as federal and state officials prepare for a regulatory decision to […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

Missouri unemployment rate drops to 3.8% in September

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from August 2021 to September 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,500 jobs over the month, with job gains in service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in September 2021, down from 4.0 […]