(Missouri Independent) – The lawsuit seeking to force Missouri to expand Medicaid coverage under a voter-approved constitutional amendment will go to trial June 18 in Cole County. On Wednesday morning, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem met in a conference call with Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office and attorneys for the three people suing for coverage. In an online notation with […]
Saying that there’s a labor shortage across Missouri, Governor Mike Parson (R) has issued a directive to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to end all federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Missouri’s House Democratic Leader is blasting the decision. Governor Parson made the announcement during a Tuesday afternoon briefing at the Statehouse in Jefferson […]
The Branch of Weldon Fork Creek Bridge on Mercer County Route BB will close soon for a bridge deck replacement project. The Missouri Department of Transportation contracted with Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc. to replace the bridge’s deck. This bridge, located northwest of Mercer, is included in Gov. Mike Parson’s $351 million Focus on Bridges program, […]
Governor Mike Parson has appointed the Honorable Robin Ransom as the next Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri. She will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Laura Denvir Stith in early March. “Appointing a judge to the Supreme Court of Missouri is an important duty that I do not take […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missourians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018. But under federal law, growing, transporting, or selling marijuana remains a crime. Unsurprisingly, that dynamic has created a lot of headaches for the fledgling industry. One notable example: Unlike every other legal business in the state, marijuana companies are prohibited from deducting business expenses […]
The following is a list of general highway maintenance and construction work the Missouri Department of Transportation has planned in Northern Missouri for the week of May 24 – 30. All road closures and planned roadwork may be viewed on the Traveler Information Map at http://traveler.modot.org/map/. Inclement weather may cause schedule changes in some of the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Republicans in the Missouri Senate should move to shut off debate if a filibuster blocks anti-abortion lawmakers from putting their stamp on provider taxes that fund Medicaid, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in an interview with The Independent this week. The advice was not, however, well received by the Senate’s Republican or […]
(Missouri Independent) – As the case counts of the novel coronavirus began to tick up last March across Missouri, providers who offer tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) found their resources were being pulled in two directions. Swabs were in short supply as they became needed for COVID-19 testing. Contact tracers, who reach out to […]
The governor traveled to eastern Missouri’s Moscow Mills on Tuesday to help cut the ribbon on a three-million-dollar expansion project at one of the town’s largest manufacturers. Governor Mike Parson says the expansion at Elite Tool is creating 20 new jobs. The new jobs will pay an average salary of more than 41-thousand […]
The following is a list of general highway maintenance and construction work the Missouri Department of Transportation has planned in North Missouri for the week of May 17 – 23. Inclement weather may cause schedule changes in some of the planned work. There may also be moving operations throughout the region in addition to the […]
Another session of the Missouri Legislature has come and gone. Of the 1,559 House bills and 689 Senate bills filed this time around, 69 bills will make it to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. Here are some key bills left up to the governor to sign or veto: Missouri lawmakers vote to pump up […]
Legislation that would allow Missouri utility companies to speed their transition to renewable energy is on its way to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk just a day before the General Assembly’s session ends. The Missouri House voted 146-1 Thursday in favor of a policy — also adopted earlier this year in Kansas — that would allow utility providers, like […]
(Missouri Independent) – An effort by lawmakers to require disclosure of ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses was derailed on Thursday when state regulators suggested a possible gubernatorial veto. On Tuesday, the Missouri House voted to require the Department of Health and Senior Services provide legislative oversight committees with records regarding who owns […]
Governor Mike Parson signed HB 15, which allows for the continued current operations of state government through FY 2021. HB 15 totals over $2.1 billion, including $254.8 million in general revenue, $1.7 billion in federal funds, and $116.7 million in other funds. The supplemental budget bill contains funding for several items, including the USDA’s Summer […]
The Branch of Weldon Fork Creek Bridge on Mercer County Route BB was to close Monday, May 17, for a bridge deck replacement project. Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc., the contractor working with the Missouri Department of Transportation, has postponed closing the bridge until Tuesday, June 1. This bridge, located northwest of Mercer, is included in […]
The Missouri Department of Social Services submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services formally withdrawing its State Plan Amendments for MO HealthNet expansion. On August 4, 2020, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding MO HealthNet eligibility to individuals between 100 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri will not expand Medicaid coverage to working-age adults on July 1 because lawmakers refused to include funding for the health care program in the state budget, Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday. In a news release, Parson said the state was withdrawing documents submitted to the federal government necessary to add the approximately 275,000 […]
The bridge on Putnam County Route Y over Blackbird Creek, northeast of Unionville, is now open to all traffic. Contractors from Emery Sapp & Sons Inc., working with the Missouri Department of Transportation, reopened the bridge to all traffic this afternoon. The bridge was closed in March to rehabilitate the structurally deficient bridge deck and […]
(Missouri Independent) – As the state of Missouri battles its second year of the novel coronavirus’ spread, lawmakers on Wednesday sent to the governor’s desk a bill that aims to rein in local public health orders and ban vaccine passports. The provisions were included in House Bill 271, which deals with local government transparency. It grew […]
The state legislature voted Friday, May 7, to give final approval to a $34 billion state operating budget; however, the budget has not been signed by the governor. North Central Missouri College President Doctor Lenny Klaver says he is pleased where the college is in the process. He explains that, in the budget, community colleges […]
