U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Missouri State Director Kyle Wilkens announced that USDA is investing $288,302,000 to build and improve critical rural infrastructure in Missouri. “Infrastructure is more than just laying pipes in the ground and wires on poles,” said Wilkens. “By investing in modern infrastructure, Rural Development is investing in the lives of […]
Professional technology services company CoffeeTree Group announced today it will establish a new technology delivery center in Marceline, investing $100,000 and creating 50 new jobs. The new location will enable the company to accommodate its growth while meeting the increasing demand for its services. “My administration has made it a top priority to prepare our […]
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from October 2021 to November 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,600 jobs over the month, with job gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in November […]
(Missouri Independent) – Jackson and St. Louis Counties requested Monday that they be permitted to intervene and appeal a recent court ruling that they argue has “upended the longstanding public health framework” in Missouri. In a filing submitted Monday afternoon and obtained by The Independent, the two counties asked Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel […]
Missouri WIC is extending the temporary increase of the Cash Value Benefit for Fruit and Vegetable Purchases for January, February, and March 2022. The increase is the same amount as November and December: $24.00 per month for child participants, $43.00 per month for pregnant and postpartum women participants, and $47.00 per month for breastfeeding women […]
(Missouri Independent) – Two years ago, a company led by an influential Republican businessman faced off with the state’s environmental regulators over whether it needed to do additional testing for a chemical that health officials worried could pose a cancer risk to the company’s workers. The Moberly manufacturing facility, Orscheln Products LLC, is owned by […]
Governor Mike Parson announced that he will recommend a 5.5 percent Cost of Living Adjustment and $15.00 per hour minimum base pay standard for all state employees across state government. “With many positions across state government facing turnover rates anywhere from 10-100 percent and vacancy rates from 30-100 percent, it is past time for us […]
(Missouri Independent) – The omicron variant of COVID-19 has made its way to Missouri, with the first case announced Friday. In a news release, the Department of Health and Senior Services said it was notified by public health partners of a presumed positive case for the variant that came from a St. Louis resident who […]
Open enrollment ends on December 7, 2021, for Missouri residents on Medicare. Changes can be made through December 7th to participants’ Medicare Advantage plans and to Part D drug coverage. State Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers reminds Missouri residents that there’s an assistance program, called CLAIM, that helps Medicare recipients wanting to make changes […]
(Missouri Independent) – Patients who arrive at an abortion clinic in Overland Park, Kansas, have often traveled long distances. Many began their journeys in Missouri, sometimes driving hours to their appointment. “We’ve heard these stories from Missourians and other people in our region for years,” said Emily Wales, interim president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “They […]
More Missourians are expected to travel and gather together this year for larger Thanksgiving and holiday celebrations after a quieter holiday season in 2020 because of COVID-19. State Fire Marshal Tim Bean is advising folks to reduce the risk of fires as we enter the five-week period of elevated fire hazards. “Thanksgiving begins a five-week […]
Groups working to keep Missouri residents in their homes since the pandemic began are trying to identify the barriers to receiving emergency rental assistance. As of September, the state had given less than 20% of the funds it was allocated from the American Rescue Plan, despite many Missouri renters facing financial hardships and eviction notices. Katherine Fenerson, […]
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Missouri Acting State Director D Clark Thomas announced the agency is investing $358,270 to improve equitable access to safe housing for rural Missouri homeowners. USDA Rural Development has long partnered with various organizations, together making a larger impact in rural Missouri, Thomas said. The Housing Preservation Grant Program is […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the City of Moscow Mills for allegedly enforcing a ticket quota on their officers, in violation of Senate Bill 5 and accompanying reforms. “Missourians should not be treated as cash cows to fill municipal coffers. When I was in the State Senate, I led efforts to […]
A new addition to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services statewide COVID-19 dashboard finds that vaccination remains a strong defense against the virus, and that older age and health co-morbidities are strongly correlated with “breakthrough infections.” The new data identifies COVID-19 breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated. The analysis is the result of a partnership […]
Missouri’s firearms deer hunting season begins Saturday, November 13, 2021, and runs through November 23. Conservation Agent Kevin Lockard says there has been a reduction of chronic wasting disease in deer disease in Missouri. There are, however, thirty-four Missouri counties that have regulations regarding the deadly disease. You can find out more by […]
(Missouri Independent) – With $6.5 billion on the way from the federal infrastructure bill and a newly increased gas tax, Missouri is ready to take a big bite out of $4.5 billion in unfunded highway needs, Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said this week. But that doesn’t mean the state is ready to tackle […]
The Missouri Primary Care Association has launched an effort to help Missourians sign up for health insurance through the federal marketplace or Medicaid. The “Show Me Coverage” partnership with 15 Missouri community health centers will include help over the phone and in-person to get enrolled. Participating community health centers include in Versailles, Kansas […]
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly a month after a reporter identified a security flaw in a state website that exposed teachers’ social security numbers, the state announced Wednesday it was offering a year of credit monitoring services to hundreds of thousands of teachers whose personal information was put at risk According to the Department of Elementary […]
In addition to frigid temperatures and snow and ice, winter brings dangerous driving conditions and the potential for damaging and deadly storms. That’s why the National Weather Service, the State Emergency Management Agency, and Missouri’s local emergency managers are teaming up to promote Nov. 15-19, 2021, as Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Missouri. “Most Missourians have […]
