(Missouri Independent) – The COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield Foods’ northern Missouri plant — the focus of a worker safety lawsuit that garnered national attention last year — resulted in two worker deaths and was worse than previously thought, according to newly obtained federal documents. Early on in the pandemic, the Sullivan County Health Department told local […]
Tag: May 2
Court news for Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court for Thursday, October 14, 2021
A Trenton man pleaded guilty to three counts while six others were dismissed on Thursday following two arrests, one month apart, this summer. In Division One of the Grundy County Circuit Court, Judge Thomas Alley sentenced Stephan Elliott to four years with the Department of Corrections on each of three counts. These were driving while […]
Missouri Attorney General obtains two consent judgments in Sunshine lawsuits
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today announced that his Office has obtained two consent judgments in Sunshine Law lawsuits launched earlier this year. The lawsuit against the Ray County Commission and the lawsuit against the City of Fairview were filed in April of 2021. “Enforcing and protecting the Sunshine Law is an important duty of […]
Braymer man charged with murder of Diemel brothers pleads “Not Guilty” to stealing in Caldwell County court
The Braymer man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Johnson County for the death of two Wisconsin men pleaded not guilty October 12 to a felony stealing charge in Division One of Caldwell County Circuit Court. Twenty-seven-year-old Garland Joseph Nelson waived formal arraignment. The case was continued to November 9th for a plea or […]
Kawasaki Motors to open new facility in Boonville, creating more than 270 new jobs
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. announced it will expand its operations in Missouri by opening a manufacturing facility in Boonville and create more than 270 new jobs in the area. The new facility will help the company meet the increasing demand for general-purpose engines used in lawn and garden products. “We’re thrilled to see Kawasaki’s […]
Missouri executes Ernest Johnson by lethal injection
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri carried out the death sentence of Ernest Johnson Tuesday evening, ending his life with an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre. Johnson’s case drew national attention in recent weeks, with a range of public figures — from former Gov. Bob Holden to Pope Francis — urging Missouri Gov. […]
Missouri man sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole for carrying almost 2.5 pounds of fentanyl aboard a train
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for smuggling more than a kilogram of fentanyl in his luggage aboard a train that stopped in Kansas City, Mo., from Los Angeles, Calif., bound for St. Louis, Mo. Joseph D. Christie, 43, of Poplar Bluff, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 […]
Audio: Weekly relational discipleship program held at the Rural Dale Baptist Church
A weekly relational discipleship program is held at the Rural Dale Baptist Church near Trenton. Everyone is welcome Tuesday evenings at 6:20, and spokesperson Reuben Wagler says the group was created because a lot of area residents had attended Encounter events in Lebanon. Wagler mentions he went to a Men’s Encounter in May […]
Kirksville woman charged with murder of infant has trial reset to March 2022 in Harrison County
A jury trial has been reset for a Kirksville woman charged with first and second-degree murder after a child death investigation in May 2020. Twenty-nine-year-old Makuya Stephanie Kambamba appeared in court in Putnam County on September 15th, and her trial is now scheduled to begin in Harrison County on March 1st, 2022. It was previously […]
Grundy R-5 Board of Education sets graduation date, approves paying for flu shots
The Grundy County R-5 Board of Education on September 13th approved paying for seasonal flu shots and set the graduation date. The district will pay for flu shots for all staff members who wish to participate. The cost will be $18 per staff member. Graduation is scheduled for May 21st, 2022. The fifth-grade graduation will […]
Nelson bound to Division One on theft charge in Caldwell County
A case involving a felony stealing charge has been bound over to Division One of Caldwell County Circuit Court for the Braymer man charged with two counts of first degree murder in Johnson County for the death of two Wisconsin men. Online court information shows 27 year old Garland Joseph Nelson appeared via Webex in […]
Study: Saint Louis University face mask policy reduced quarantines, COVID cases
(Missouri Independent) – Tying quarantine requirements to the Saint Louis University face mask requirement successfully reduced the number of students sent to isolation and helped cut COVID-19 infections this spring, according to a study published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under the university’s rules, students without masks who had close contact […]
Trenton authorities report the arrest of two on failure to appear in court
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on September 8, 2021, of two individuals who failed to appear in court. Fifty-three-year-old Barbara Lois Strout of Eldon was arrested in Miller County. She allegedly failed to appear on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Strout’s bond is […]
City of Trenton accepting bids for property
The City of Trenton is accepting sealed bids for the sale of property at 1002 West 14th Street. A minimum bid of $500 is required. Bids should be marked “Sealed Bid for Property” and returned to the City Clerk’s Office at 1100 Main Street by September 24th at 2 p.m. Contact City Clerk Cindy Simpson […]
Lawsuit filed over $1.4 billion contract for Missouri prison healthcare
(Missouri Independent) – The dispute over the $1.4 billion contract to provide prisoner health care in Missouri is moving into the courts. Corizon Health, which has held the Department of Corrections contract since 1992, filed a lawsuit Monday in Cole County alleging that unfair treatment and improper scoring gave the contract to Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of […]
Missouri unemployment rate drops to 4.2 percent in July
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from June 2021 to July 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 15,000 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in July […]
Missouri man sentenced to 13-years in prison without parole for child pornography
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving child pornography over the internet. Dana Paul Cline, 54, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 13-years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Cline to pay a total of $31,000 in restitution to several of his […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
Audio: Missouri Department of Conservation’s first-ever canine unit reports for duty
Missouri has a new unit of four-legged officers with badges who are in the field protecting the state’s wildlife, fish, and forest land. The Missouri Department of Conservation has launched a unit made up of five handlers and canines. Agent Alan Lamb and his partner, a Pointer named Tex, patrol southeast Missouri’s Madison County. He […]