Road Closed

Sullivan County Route VV to close on Monday

A section of Sullivan County Route VV will close for a culvert replacement, Monday, December 14. Local maintenance crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation plan to close Route VV from Eagle Drive to Friend Drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the closure, motorists will need to use an alternate route. All work […]

Governor Mike Parson

Governor Parson’s Bicentennial Inaugural Committee announces inaugural events

Governor Michael L. Parson’s Bicentennial Inaugural Committee announced initial plans for an Inaugural Prayer Service and the Inauguration Ceremony in January of 2021. “To kick off Missouri’s bicentennial, we will celebrate our state’s rich heritage with a historic Bicentennial Inauguration,” said Teresa Parson, First Lady of Missouri and co-chair of the inaugural committee. “The strong […]

Knox County Health Department website

Audio: Northeast Missouri health departments begging for cooperation for contact tracing for COVID

Health departments in rural northeast Missouri are begging for cooperation and honesty when it comes to contact tracing. Knox County health officials say they’re getting incomplete information.  WGEM’s Frank Healy reports from Edina.     Health officials say they keep getting incomplete information.   Knox County health administrator Lori Moots-Clair tells Quincy affiliate WGEM that being […]

Face Mask photo from Unsplash

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 […]

Coronavirus in Prisons

Missouri Department of Corrections implements technology to cut COVID-19 infection rate within prisons

Implementation of three technological innovations in the Missouri Department of Corrections aims to cut COVID-19 infection rates in Missouri state prisons and other facilities. These strategies: Kill the virus in the air Kill the virus on surfaces Detect the virus in wastewater The department now has ionization generators — air purifying devices that destroy 99.4% […]

Network cables (RJ45 ) connected to a switch

Audio: Missouri Senator emphasizes rural broadband during address to Missouri Farm Bureau

Missouri’s senior senator says he’s working to ensure that the Show-Me State is getting a healthy share of federal broadband funding. Republican Roy Blunt addressed Missouri Farm Bureau members during their annual meeting this weekend, saying the Re-Connect program has invested 200-million dollars in Missouri, which is 20 percent of all support nationwide.     […]

Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana subpoena may have been connected to Independence, Missouri FBI probe

(Missouri Independent) – The head of Missouri’s medical marijuana program testified under oath that a grand jury subpoena his agency received late last year was likely connected to an FBI investigation in Independence.  The revelation by Lyndall Fraker, director of medical marijuana regulation at the Missouri Department of Health and Seniors Services, is the first […]

Healthcare Graphic

Audio: Missouri prepares to launch new program to help rural hospitals with covid struggles

On Tuesday, Missouri is launching a program focused on helping rural hospitals with their problems of limited staffing, bed capacity, and equipment during the pandemic. In southwest Missouri’s Appleton City, many low-income families are waiting for care. Jamie O’Farrell tells Springfield television station KOLR she treats patients at Ellett Memorial Hospital’s clinic.     Through […]

School Funding

Audio: $76 Million in to be deployed to Missouri’s K-12 schools, once Governor signs supplemental budget

About $76 million in federal money will be heading to Missouri’s k-12 schools, once Governor Mike Parson signs the supplemental budget bill. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says the $1.27 billion supplemental budget includes $75.6 million for school nutrition services.     “i.e., paying for meals in k-12 education,” Smith says. “So this […]

Business finance and economy concept

Census survey reveals COVID-19’s devastating impact in Missouri

(Missouri Independent) – Hundreds of thousands of Missourians are struggling to get by during our coronavirus public health emergency, including children, according to the recently released U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. While 40.8 percent of Missouri households report losing income since March, families with children under 18 have been especially impacted, with 51.4 percent reporting […]

Missouri Governor Mike Parson

Audio: Governor Parson reacts to investigative report into recent COVID deaths at Missouri veterans homes

Missouri’s governor said Thursday in Jefferson City that he wants some answers, after reading a 53-page independent investigation into recent COVID deaths at Missouri veterans homes. Governor Mike Parson ordered the investigation, which was conducted by St. Louis-based Armstrong Teasdale. The governor emphasizes that he’s limited in what he can say because he doesn’t know […]

North Central Missouri Development Alliance or NCMDA

Audio: North Central Missouri Development Alliance calls business retention the foundation of economic development

North Central Missouri Development Alliance Director Micah Landes calls business retention the foundation of economic development. She says it does not make sense for an organization to use time and resources to attract new businesses if the organization is not helping existing businesses. Landes also calls locally-owned businesses the “lifeblood” of a stable economy. Grundy […]