A Missouri woman pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually assaulting two children to produce child pornography and to receiving and distributing child pornography. Tara Sau Millman, 41, Merriam Village, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of minors and one count of receiving and distributing […]
The North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center was founded in Trenton in 2003. Development Coordinator Amanda White says there needed to be a more localized, focused way to respond to child abuse. Former Grundy County juvenile officer Cathie Smith helped found the center. White explains the center interviews children who have been through trauma. […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released a report covering the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The report is part of a comprehensive review of the Clay County government initiated by citizens through the petition audit process. “The taxpayers that initiated this audit of Clay County made it clear they wanted a thorough, independent review of […]
The push to expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri was dealt another blow on Wednesday, as a Cole County judge ruled the voter-approved initiative was unconstitutional because it didn’t include a way to pay for 275,000 new enrollees. Plaintiffs, which include three people who would have been eligible for Medicaid on July 1 if the expansion […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set a July 23, 2021, deadline for agricultural producers and landowners to apply for the Conservation Reserve Program General signup 56. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications for CRP Grasslands from July 12 to August 20. This year, USDA updated both signup options to provide greater […]
(Missouri Independent) – For years after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, activists and community leaders have pushed to “re-envision public safety.” Inspired in part by the Ferguson Commission, which recommended that cities focus more resources on the root causes of crime, organizers across the state echoed these calls. But they largely fell on deaf ears. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers were not obligated to fund Medicaid expansion, and the courts cannot force the state to pay the medical bills of people who would be eligible under an initiative that amended the state constitution, the state attorney general’s office argued in documents filed Monday in Cole County Circuit Court. The filing from Attorney […]
A representative from SafeDefend presented information to the Trenton R-9 Board of Education on June 8th. Dan Cole demonstrated the system, which he called a crisis management harm mitigation rapid response solution. He said it was created after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. He explained activation modules allow a […]
A Missouri man who illegally possessed nine firearms has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene and Cass counties. Christopher M. Iavolo, 42, of Springfield pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday, June 1, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine […]
A Kansas City, Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy. He sold more than 14 kilograms of methamphetamine and 30 firearms to an undercover federal agent. Jose Alvarado, 28, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to one count of conspiracy to […]
(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) – At least once a day, housing advocate Melissa Pashia speaks to someone living in a car. Once the situation gets to this point, it’s hard to get people back into stable housing, said Pashia, a housing resource specialist for the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council. “Landlords don’t want to […]
The Trenton Park Board voted at a special meeting on May 14th to raise pay for pool staff. It was also announced the Trenton Family Aquatic Center’s target opening date is May 29th. The pool manager pay will be $12 per hour, and the assistant manager pay will be $10.25 per hour. Lifeguards will be […]
(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 […]
As the school year ends, you can expect young people to start applying for summer jobs. For agricultural employers, these young workers can provide extra capacity at a time when farms and agribusinesses often have more work than they have employees to get that work done. “Labor is tight as the economy picks up steam […]
Join other producers at the Management Intensive Grazing School on June 11 and 12 at the Schuyler County Community Center in Glenwood, Missouri. The program will be taught by MU Extension, NRCS, and a producer with an existing system. Specific topics will include the Art & Science of MIG; Evaluating Resources; Soil Structure, Function, and […]
The Missouri Legislature has passed a proposal that would boost the state’s gas and diesel tax for the first time in about 25 years. The state House of Representatives voted Tuesday night 104-52 in favor of increasing the user fee by 12.5 total cents over five years. The plan would also give most drivers a […]
The city of Trenton and its municipal utility expect to save money on interest costs with the re-financing of three long-term debts. It was announced the savings amounts to $658,000 over the length of the loans. Two involve 2012 issued bonds and the 2014 issued bonds for Trenton Municipal Utilities projects done at the water […]
A former paraprofessional at Blue Springs High School pleaded guilty in federal court to producing and distributing child pornography. Steven B. Allen, 45, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography over the internet. Allen, who has been […]
A Missouri, man who was scheduled to begin his criminal jury trial instead pleaded in federal court to receiving child pornography over the internet. Scott James Wells, 55, of Springfield, withdrew his plea of not guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool in order to enter a nolo contendre, or “no contest,” plea, neither […]
