Some Missouri Republican lawmakers are working to make it harder for voters to get an initiative on the ballot. A bill aimed at changing the ballot initiative process advanced Monday evening in the House of Representatives. It would require signatures of 10-percent from all Missouri’s congressional districts from the current requirement of 10-percent of voters […]
United States District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk accepted a plea of guilty from Jarvis L. Fields for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Fields in December 2020. Judge Pitlyk set sentencing for May 3, 2022. According to the plea agreement, on April 10, […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Cole County judge kept intact most of the ballot summary Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote for an initiative petition seeking to bar public funds from going to private schools. On Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem ruled that Ashcroft was correct to say in the summary that the […]
Some lawmakers in Jefferson City are pushing forward bills that would limit citizens’ ability to put constitutional amendments on the ballot. The proposed legislation would double the number of signatures required to get on the ballot and raise the thresholds to pass them from a majority to two-thirds. Benjamin Singer, CEO of the group Show-Me Integrity, noted […]
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft reiterated that his office will not be swayed from following the law and the Missouri Constitution with regard to certifying initiative petitions. On Friday, January 28, Ashcroft’s office received service of a lawsuit filed by David Roland – who has submitted numerous initiative petitions to the secretary of state’s office […]
(Missouri Independent) – In a rare move, a Missouri commission granted a medical marijuana license to an applicant after discovering irregularities with how state regulators evaluated applications. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) decided to forgo appealing the ruling, announcing Tuesday that it had reached a settlement with the jilted applicant to […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced her office has begun an audit of the city of Cuba, located in Crawford County. City residents requested the audit through the petition process. “The petition audit process allows citizens to be engaged and ensure accountability with their local government,” Auditor Galloway said. “I look forward to conducting this […]
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating four cases of Legionnaires’ disease among previously hospitalized patients at Phelps Health in Rolla, Missouri. The first case occurred in May 2021. The source of the bacteria that caused these individuals to acquire infection is under investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, DHSS is […]
(Missouri Independent) – The push to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri is coming from multiple directions, with a handful of proposed initiative petitions and at least one bill, and potentially more, backed by Republican lawmakers. Each hopes to place the issue on the 2022 ballot for voter approval. And each proposal also includes a […]
Community leaders in six northwest Missouri counties were part of Maximize Northwest Missouri’s 2021 Regional Learning Collaborative that wrapped up late last summer. “Some of the keywords that participants used to describe their learning experience include: enlightening, motivating, empowering, informative, inspiring, insightful, and team-building,” shared Mary Hinde, president of The Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri. […]
A ballot initiative in Missouri is seeking to change the way statewide elections are run. Currently, in the Show-Me State, there are party primaries in August, and voters choose between the winners of the primaries in November. The Better Elections initiative seeks to move to what’s known as ranked-choice voting. Rosetta Okohson, a Democratic consultant and co-leader of the […]
A Belton, Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms and for drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. Maurice L. Sneed, also known as “Sneedy,” 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, to five years and eight months in federal prison without parole. […]
A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy that distributed more than 2,600 kilograms (5,732 pounds) of cocaine in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Jesus Salvador Campoy-Estrada, also known as “Chava” and “Chavita,” 27, of Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 12 […]
(Missouri Independent) – If school districts want to take advantage of a lower interest rate on bonds, Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is requiring them to certify compliance with a recent court ruling targeting local health orders before his office will approve of the deal. Fitzpatrick detailed the decision he described as “unprecedented” in an interview Wednesday […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released her citizen-requested audit of the City of Homestead Village, a small community near Excelsior Springs in Ray County. This audit was initiated when qualified voters in the village gathered the required number of petition signatures to trigger an audit under Missouri law. Auditors identified at least $4,348 in customer sewer payments […]
(Missouri Independent) – Faced with over a year’s delay from the state social services department on implementing extended mental health care for new moms, a bipartisan effort now aims to expand health care coverage more broadly for low-income pregnant women. Legislation filed last week by Sens. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, and Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, would extend […]
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released the audit of the Greene County Commission that included the involvement of a former Greene County commissioner in a 2017 sales tax ballot measure campaign. Among its findings, the audit found that taxpayers paid more than $25,000 in legal invoices sent to the personal address of now-former Presiding Commissioner […]
A Missouri woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a wire fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $362,000 from her Springfield, Mo., employer. Carrie Leigh Long, 52, Ash Grove, was charged in a 24-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday, Nov. 17. […]
Warren County has been selected by American Foods Group as the planned location for a new state-of-the-art beef processing facility, pending final approval. Once established, the facility would create more than 1,300 new jobs and generate $1 billion in economic impact in the state of Missouri. “Missouri is able to compete for projects of this […]
(Missouri Independent) – The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill isn’t just about roads and bridges — it also spends billions to address wildfire, drought, flooding, and other effects from climate change, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The $1.2 trillion measure, which is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after the House cleared it last week, includes pay […]
