Ameren Missouri has donated 800 window air conditioners and 800 packs of LED lightbulbs to help its most vulnerable customers in St. Louis and eastern Missouri. Ameren Missouri has also donated 165-thousand dollars to Cool Down St. Louis and to Cool Down Missouri. Ameren is warning seniors and other vulnerable residents about the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and extend […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a 50/50 match on Nebraska dollars invested in outreach to get more eligible families enrolled in SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. Ellen Vollinger, legal director at the Food Research and Action Center, said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps struggling families put food on the […]
The Chillicothe Fire Department noticed a vehicle fire on Wednesday afternoon, June 16 on the way back to the station from a grass fire. The vehicle was at 1025 Washington Street. The fire department reports the hazmat truck pulled alongside the vehicle and started extinguishing it. Flames engulfed the interior of the vehicle, and fire had […]
The Grundy County Hazard Mitigation Plan has been approved. The plan was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on June 3 after it was submitted on April 28. The plan’s expiration date is June 3, 2026. FEMA defines hazard mitigation as “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human […]
Kansas City’s Union Station is now home to what is called (quote) “the most comprehensive exhibition on the Holocaust ever seen in North America.” The exhibit is called “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away,” opened yesterday. Union Station is one of only two U.S. locations hosting this important international exhibition. Prior to […]
The Department of Economic Development announced it will award more than $15.8 million to 38 recipients through its Community Development Block Grant Program to help communities with infrastructure improvement and other projects across Missouri. “Strengthening infrastructure and improving our workforce remains my administration’s top priorities,” said Governor Mike Parson. “Whether repairing roads, upgrading facilities, or […]
While the United States faces a nationwide nursing shortage, a recent study at the University of Missouri found rural Missouri counties experience nursing shortages at a greater rate than the state’s metropolitan counties. In addition, the study found rural Missouri counties have a higher percentage of older nurses nearing retirement, which could have a severe impact on […]
Chillicothe’s most famous invention is celebrated state-wide with Sliced Bread Day in Missouri every July 7, which is the anniversary of the groundbreaking innovation. This year the community will celebrate Sliced Bread Day with a variety of fun, community activities on the following Saturday, July 10, 2021. Ninety-three years earlier, on July 7, 1928, The […]
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is launching an annual effort to return Unclaimed Property to Missourians. Beginning Tuesday, the names of more than 112,000 individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations with Unclaimed Property will be listed in over 100 publications across the state. This year, for the first time, Missourians can also search and view […]
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorney General Eric Schmitt has determined his office cannot investigate an alleged violation of Missouri’s open records laws by the governor’s office, an interpretation of state law that has transparency advocates alarmed. Missouri’s attorney general’s office is in charge of enforcing the Sunshine Law, which requires meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations […]
(Missouri Independent) – Retired St. Louis Judge Evelyn Baker once sentenced a 16-year-old Black boy to 241 years in prison for two armed robberies. No one was seriously injured in the robberies, but the boy “didn’t express any remorse,” Baker said, remembering the sentencing hearing. Now, when she thinks back, Baker deeply regrets the sentence […]
A new study of eviction filings in St. Louis during the pandemic found people within protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, communities of color, women-led households, and families with children are impacted at higher rates than others. The Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council’s report noted even though moratoriums have kept many people unable to […]
Missouri’s population grew by about 11,000 people from 2019 to 2020. This 0.2% increase is only half the national rate of 0.4%, though it is typical of the modest growth experienced by many other Midwestern states. But the picture gets more complicated when you zoom in to specific regions and counties. “This growth is uneven,” […]
Governor Mike Parson signed a bill at the North Central Missouri College Barton Farm College of Trenton June 10th to prevent third parties from inspecting certain agriculture production facilities. House Bill 574 limits agriculture inspection authority to only those with statutory and regulatory reason to do so. Prior to signing House Bill 574, Parson stated […]
(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. […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced today that her office has begun a regularly scheduled audit of Harrison County, located in northwest Missouri. The county received a rating of “fair” from the most recent state audit, issued in November 2015. “Audits can help local officials take steps to make government more efficient and effective for taxpayers,” Auditor […]
The Princeton City Council approved three-band service contracts for the Princeton Chamber of Commerce on June 8th. Deputy City Clerk Lisa Colson reports the contracts were for $2,050 total. The band Trailblazer is to perform on the Princeton Square on June 19th from 7 o’clock to 10:30. A fireworks celebration will be at the fairgrounds […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a civil lawsuit against an illicit massage business, Royal Day Spa, located in St. Louis County. This lawsuit is the fifth filed by Attorney General Schmitt as part of his Office’s Hope Initiative to combat human trafficking in illicit massage businesses. “Human trafficking is a scourge on our society […]
