The Missouri labor market showed further improvement in November 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 17,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from October 2020 to November 2020, and the civilian labor force increased more than 23,000. However, the labor market still showed substantial losses from […]
Tag: months
Employer survey details employer perspectives on pandemic and skill needs
The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) released new statewide employer survey results to correspond with its 2020 Missouri Economic & Workforce Report, which was published earlier this fall. The Economic & Workforce Report tracks the state’s economy and workforce by fiscal year (July 2019 – June 2020). The corresponding employer survey results focus […]
Audio: Federal judge blocks execution of Lisa Montgomery, sentenced to death for gruesome killing in Skidmore, Missouri
A federal judge said that the Justice Department broke the law when it rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row last month, potentially pushing her execution into President-elect Joe Biden’s new administration. Her execution had originally been scheduled for December 8, but Moss agreed last month to delay after […]
Chillicothe man pleads guilty to his role in $142 million fraud scheme
A Chillicothe, Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a $142 million scheme to sell non-organic grain as though it was organic. Steven N. Whiteside, 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill A. Morris to a federal information that charges him with falsely signing documents related to the fraud scheme. […]
JC Penney closing another 15 stores, with one in Missouri included in latest announcement
JC Penney is closing another 15 stores nationwide next spring, including one in southern Missouri. The department store chain’s website shows the West Plains location is shutting down. The company closed its stores for two months when COVID-19 first came on the scene. It then chose to permanently shutter about 150 stores and file for […]
Daviess County officials issue public health mask advisory
Daviess County Health Department Administrator Cheryl Alexander, Daviess County Commissioners, and Emergency Management Director David Roll have issued a public health mask advisory. All persons at least two years old are advised to wear masks when in contact with others who are not household members. The advisory will begin on December 20th and be reviewed […]
Owner of hospice companies sentenced to 20-years in prison for $150 million health care fraud and money laundering scheme
A corporate executive has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison after his conviction related to falsely telling thousands of patients with long-term incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, they had less than six months to live and subsequently enrolling them in hospice programs. A federal jury in McAllen, Texas, convicted Rodney […]
November job report shows further improvement in 2020
The Missouri labor market showed further improvement in November 2020. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 17,400 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from October 2020 to November 2020, and the civilian labor force increased more than 23,000. However, the labor market still showed substantial losses from […]
First shipment of COVID vaccines arrive in Missouri
Governor Mike Parson announced that the first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Missouri. The Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Friday, December 11, confirming its safety and effectiveness. “Today is an exciting day for Missouri as we have received the first of many […]
Trenton city sales tax receipts up nearly 6% for May through December
Trenton city sales tax receipts are up by nearly 6% for General Purposes, Capital Projects, and Parks. City sales tax receipts for the 17th Street Bridge replacement project are up nearly 8%. Revenue from the city sales tax for Trenton Fire Department needs is up nearly 7%. Those increases are for the first eight months […]
Audio: Missouri Senator Josh Hawley teams up with Senator Bernie Sanders on stimulus package
U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are introducing a bipartisan amendment to attach to must-pass legislation to be considered by Congress, which would provide $1,200 in direct payments to working-class adults and $500 to each of their children. This amendment, similar to what was passed in the CARES Act, would be attached to must-pass […]
Director of Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services attends White House task force meeting on Operation Warp Speed
President Donald Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force invited a small group of private business, state, and health care leaders to the White House to brief them on Operation Warp Speed, the COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution project started earlier this year. Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and […]
Norfolk Island pine: A houseplant for the holidays and so much more
If you don’t have time or space for a large Christmas tree, consider a Norfolk Island pine. “Many stores sell these evergreen houseplants during the holidays,” says University of Missouri Extension agronomist Pat Miller. “These easy-to-grow plants often come decorated and are perfect for gift-giving or to keep for yourself.” Norfolk Island pines grow slowly […]
Grundy County sales tax collections end the fiscal year with a slight increase over 2019
Grundy County sales tax collections finished up for the year in general revenue, ambulance, and law enforcement compared to 2019. Funds in each category are approximately $499,600, which is up more than $26,700 from last year or about .057%. Collections for each category for December were nearly $56,000, which is an increase of more than […]
Grundy R-5 Board of Education approves proposal for insurance, reviews yearly audit
The Grundy County R-5 Board of Education approved a proposal for insurance on the evening of December 9th. The Missouri United School Insurance Council’s insurance will cost $36,206, which is an increase of $1,900 from last year. The board also approved an umbrella policy from MUSIC for an additional $5,000,000 of coverage for $1,533. The […]
Additional cases in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court on Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Among additional cases processed Tuesday in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court, a Galt resident, Ryan Mitchell Hutcherson was placed on probation after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated persistent offender. He was sentenced to six months at the Grundy County Detention Center which was then suspended by the court and replaced with […]
Beef producers sought for GrowSafe system research at MU
Researchers at the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center are inviting beef producers to take part in a program to identify beef cows that use feed efficiently. MU Extension researchers will mine data from the GrowSafe system to help producers select breeding stock cows that eat less than other cows while producing calves with similar […]
Grundy County Commission to consider mask order after meeting with numerous health professionals
Representatives from Wright Memorial Hospital, the Grundy County Health Department, and Grundy County Ambulance discussed a possible mask order with the Grundy County Commission the morning of December 8th. Wright Memorial Chief Nursing Officer Catherine Hamilton said she does not think communities understand the stresses on hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained there […]
Arkansas project manager sentenced to two years in prison in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud
A project manager employed by a major retailer was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for fraudulently seeking more than $8 million in forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. […]
Audio: The latest on Missouri’s upcoming distribution of COVID-19 vaccine
If the Food and Drug Administration approves Pfizer’s request for emergency use of the company’s COVID-19 drug, Missouri could get the first shipment of the vaccine later this month. The first batch is expected to include 51,000 doses, followed by 64,000 the next week. The first phase of the state’s immunization plans will allow healthcare […]