U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a significant expansion of access to high-speed internet, health care, and educational services for millions of rural Americans nationwide. Today’s announcement continues to move forward President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda by prioritizing economic growth in rural America and investing in the backbone of our country […]
Tag: mental
Increasing access to counseling services for military families is goal of new bill by lawmakers
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) introduced the bipartisan COMFORT Act to solve the current shortage of Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) and increase access to counseling services on military installations. The senators’ bill allows for license portability for MFLCs, so counselors can work outside of the state in which they are licensed. “Families […]
Missouri State Treasurer joins Missouri bankers voicing concerns about IRS Proposal
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick joined Missouri bankers across the state to voice concerns about an Internal Revenue Service proposal requiring financial institutions to turn over financial account information for accounts with inflows or outflows totaling more than $10,000. At stops in St. Charles, Jefferson City, and Springfield, the Treasurer and Missouri financial institution leaders […]
NRCS announces november 19, 2021 application deadline for financial assistance
The Missouri USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced November 19, 2021, as the cut-off date to apply for the Fiscal Year 2022 funds through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program. EQIP allows farmers, ranchers, forestland managers, and landowners an opportunity to conserve natural resources by making available financial assistance to improve soil, water, air, plants, animals, […]
North Central Missouri Mental Health Center Board of Directors to meet next week
The North Central Missouri Mental Health Center Board of Directors will discuss a Chillicothe addition/bid proposal next week. The board will meet at the mental health center in Trenton on October 26th at 4:30 p.m. The meeting will also be available on Zoom. The meeting ID is 811 5498 3226, and the password is 278000. […]
Telehealth going strong even after pandemic closures
The use of telehealth services – a combination of telephone, video, and other online tools – peaked during COVID closures, and Coloradans still are opting for remote visits, according to new data. Social isolation and other disruptions saw mental and behavioral telehealth visits rise dramatically. Cari Frank – vice president for communications with the Center […]
FBI releases 2020 statistics for law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty
According to statistics reported to the FBI, 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2020. These assaults were reported to the FBI by 9,895 law enforcement agencies. Based on these reports, there were 4,071 more officers assaulted in 2020 than the 56,034 assaults reported in 2019. Data regarding these assaults were […]
Department of Natural Resources awards $30,000 grant to Galt
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources awarded a $30,000 Drinking Water Engineering Report Grant to the city of Galt to evaluate the city’s drinking water system. The grant offers funding to qualified communities to help cover engineering costs for evaluating water and wastewater system improvements. The city will use the grant to identify drinking water […]
Missouri Day Festival Parade officials announce winners
There were approximately 80 entries in the Missouri Day Festival Parade on Saturday in Trenton. The Spirit of Missouri Day award went to the Kirksville High School Marching Band while the Spirit of Missouri Day runner-up was Girl Scout Unit 820, which also garnered the best youth entry. Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri had the […]
University of Missouri System allows classroom mask mandate to expire
(Missouri Independent) – The University of Missouri System allowed a mask mandate for its four campuses to expire after Friday, October 15, 2021. Last month, the Board of Curators extended a rule that face masks be worn in classrooms by a 5-4 vote. That policy was scheduled to end at the close of Friday, and a meeting […]
Lawmaker urges Missouri governor to finally appoint cybersecurity commission
(Missouri Independent) – A day after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson garnered national criticism for his push to prosecute a newspaper reporter who discovered a security flaw in a state website, a Democratic lawmaker is urging the governor to appoint members of a cybersecurity commission created by a bill he signed in July. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch informed […]
Department of Natural Resources awards $339,559 grant to Ludlow
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources awarded $339,559 in financial assistance through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Regionalization Incentive Grant program to the village of Ludlow. The funding will be used to construct a connection between Ludlow’s wastewater treatment system and the Southwest Livingston County R-1 School. This grant will fund 100% of the […]
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 governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website
(Missouri Independent) – On Tuesday, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alerted the state that Social Security numbers of school teachers and administrators were vulnerable to public exposure due to flaws on a website maintained by Missouri’s department of education. The newspaper agreed to hold off publishing any story while the department fixed the problem and […]
Missouri Attorney General joins 19 state coalition urging Congress to reject legislation that increases energy fees
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a 19-state coalition urging Congress to reject burdensome legislation that would increase fees on energy producers and hit American consumers with even greater price hikes. The two bills in question are the Methane Emissions Reduction Act in the Senate and a provision of the Build Back Better Act in […]
Missouri students can now ‘test to stay’ to remain in classroom after COVID exposure
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri students and teachers identified as being exposed to a coronavirus case in school may now be permitted to remain in class if they continue to test negative for the virus and properly wear a mask. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) updated its school reopening guidance Friday to include the new […]
Online tool now available for drought-stricken farms to estimate compensation for feed transportation costs
An online tool is now available to help ranchers document and estimate payments to cover feed transportation costs caused by drought, which are now covered by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated the program this year to include feed transportation costs as well as […]
Governor Parson announces new Acting Directors for five departments
Governor Mike Parson announced that new Acting Directors will take over at the Department of Economic Development, Department of Mental Health, Department of Social Services, Office of Administration, and Department of Revenue. Department of Economic Development Maggie Kost will take over as DED Acting Director upon Director Rob Dixon’s departure on October 22, 2021. In […]
Missouri Livestock Symposium names Dr. David Patterson as inaugural Achievement Award recipient
The Missouri Livestock Symposium will recognize Dr. David Patterson as the inaugural recipient of the Missouri Livestock Symposium Achievement Award. Dr. Patterson will become a member of the Missouri Livestock Symposium Hall of Fame and will be inducted at a ceremony at the Symposium on Friday evening, December 3 in Kirksville, MO. According to committee […]
Audio: Blunt pushes against medical licensing barriers to telehealth
Senator Roy Blunt continues to push for health care and mental health care access VIA telemedicine. But the problem is licensing across states. On the commerce committee Friday, Blunt said students are a good example of needed online access to their hometown doctors. “Our two biggest population centers are right on the edge […]