The 2020-21 application for the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant is open, with more eligible institutions, and 15 new eligible program areas. Grant recipients can now spend their funds at Missouris non-profit private, as well as public, colleges, and universities. Fast Track, a state financial aid program, provides tuition assistance to adults over 25 years […]
Tag: Missourians
All Missouri Job Centers now open to the public, virtual services still available
The last remaining Missouri Job Center that was closed due to COVID-19 reopened to the public this week to help displaced workers find meaningful employment. The Warrenton Job Center opened Wednesday, Sept. 16. All Missouri Job Centers closed to the public in March when Gov. Mike Parson closed state office buildings due to COVID-19. Reopening […]
Missouri Department of Conservation offering hunter education certification online
The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds Missourians ages 16 and older they may obtain their hunter-education certification through an all-online format. The online option allows Missourians ages 16 and older to complete their certification at their convenience at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The all-online format is available at https://www.hunter-ed.com/missouri/. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, in-person […]
Over $2 million from state’s medical marijuana program being transferred to veterans fund
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced it has begun the process of making the first transfer of funds from Missouri’s medical marijuana program to the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC). The total amount transferred will be $2,135,510. Missourians voted in November 2018 to adopt Constitutional Amendment 2, now known as Article XIV, which includes […]
State offers free training to 1,000 Missourians unemployed by COVID-19
The state is offering free online courses to 1,000 Missourians laid off or furloughed because of COVID-19. In a press release, the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development says it has partnered with CompTIA, a nonprofit trade association, to provide the on-demand schooling. Enrollment is open through December 4 and the work can […]
Number of Missourians receiving food stamps up more than 100,000 in 2020
Statistics from the state Department of Social Services show the number of Missourians on food stamps has increased by about 120,000 since January. There were about 658,000 Missourians receiving food stamps, at the start of the year. That number increased to about 778,000 as of July, which is the latest number available from DSS’ statistics. […]
Parson defends out-of-state firm’s role in Missouri’s COVID-19 response
Missouri has paid a consulting firm more than $829,000 so far in federal coronavirus aid to help coordinate the state’s pandemic response. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports payroll records show the McChrystal Group has received federal funding from the state. The contract bypassed the normal bidding process. During a press conference at Washington University in […]
7,000 college-age people in Missouri test positive for COVID-19 in August
During August alone, nearly 7,000 college-age people in Missouri have tested positive for COVID-19. At a press conference Thursday at Washington University in St. Louis, Gov. Mike Parson urged young people to take precautions to protect their communities. “In some Missouri college communities, positivity rates have soared as high as 45% in one day just […]
Audio: Bipartisan group of Missouri election officials say more funding is needed for November
Missouri county clerks in both parties say they need additional funding to protect voters and poll workers during the November general election. Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon, a Columbia Democrat, notes November will be a high turnout election during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says county clerks have had unexpected costs. “Having to purchase personal protective equipment […]
Missouri Senate passes five special session bills to fight crime
The Missouri Senate passed five special session bills about crime in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Members spent more than 16 hours on the legislation with the most time being consumed by House Bill 2. It deals with the admissibility of certain witness statements. The slowdown came when Sen. Bob Onder, R- Lake St. […]
Missouri Senator slams state’s no-bid contract paying firm $829,000 so far
Missouri has paid a consulting firm more than $829,000 so far in federal funding for pandemic response coordination, despite Gov. Mike Parson saying a foundation was paying the tab. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports payroll records show the McChrystal Group has received the federal CARES Act funding from the state, instead of Parson saying earlier […]
Audio: Missouri Marine veteran makes it to ‘Tough As Nails’ season finale
Two Missourians are on the first season of the CBS television show Tough As Nails. U.S. Marine Corps veteran Kelly Murphy of west-central Missouri’s Warrensburg and St. Louis roofer Lee Marshall are on the show that has allowed them to earn cash by using their bare hands. The show, centering around blue-collar challenges, is an […]
Missouri Health Director disagrees with CDC’s new COVID-19 testing guideline
Missouri does not plan to follow the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending less COVID-19 testing. The new CDC guideline says people exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus “do not necessarily need a test” unless they are showing symptoms or are at high risk for getting very […]
Missourians asked to comment, attend virtual listening session on police training standards
Missourians can have a say about police training standards through a process of surveys, email comments, and public listening sessions. The Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission and the Department of Public Safety are reviewing responses to surveys of law enforcement and the public about law enforcement training and discipline in Missouri. After […]
Missouri’s new motorcycle helmet law takes effect on Friday
Some Missourians will be able to ride their motorcycles without a helmet, starting Friday. Governor Mike Parson (R) signed legislation into law in July, which gives Missouri motorcyclists the option of riding without a helmet. The provision is part of a large transportation bill. Under current Missouri law, every person operating or riding on a motorcycle must […]
‘Political trailblazer for women’ inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians
America’s first female county clerk has been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians. A bronze bust of Annie White Baxter of southwest Missouri’s Carthage joins 47 others in the esteemed hall already showcasing journalist Walter Cronkite, radio host Rush Limbaugh, and the 33rd U.S. President – Harry Truman. They line the third floor of […]
Missouri becomes third state in nation to begin paying unemployed workers through Lost Wages Assistance program
Missouri has become only the third state in the nation to begin processing payments to unemployed workers under the federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. The state began processing the $300 federal supplemental payments last night to eligible individuals. Because Missouri was one of the first states to apply for and be approved for the […]
Missouri monthly jobs report shows Missouri labor market continues to recover
The Missouri labor market continued to recover in July 2020, following major job losses due to COVID-19 shutdowns earlier in the year. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 52,200 jobs over the month. Over-the year job losses, though still substantial, have diminished as the economy has gradually reopened. Missouri’s smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to […]
Judge strikes down Cleaner Missouri ballot summary; state moves quickly to seek appeal
Cole County Judge Pat Joyce has ordered the ballot summary in a Cleaner Missouri legislative redistricting plan must change. In a judgment issued Monday, Joyce says the Amendment 3 ballot description is “misleading, unfair, and insufficient” and therefore in violation of state law. The Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature passed the proposed Constitutional amendment, SJR38, this year, […]