Did you know that social connectedness and intellectual engagement are two lifestyle factors that contribute to your brain’s health? The University of Missouri Extension in Livingston County offers a “Wits Workout” pilot program developed by the University of Illinois Extension. This program has two main goals—to provide purposeful opportunities to engage intellectually and increase socialization […]
Tag: OPP
Missouri Jobs Report report for April, 2021, shows slight decline in unemployment rate
Missouri non-farm payroll employment showed little overall change from March 2021 to April 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 600 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in April 2021, down from 4.2 percent in […]
Final four nights of concert entertainment at the Missouri State Fair announced
The final four nights of concerts in the Missouri State Fair Grandstand presented by CFM Insurance have just been announced. The Beach Boys will entertain audiences on the State Fair Grandstand stage on Wednesday, Aug 18. As The Beach Boys mark more than half a century of making music, the group continues to ride the […]
North Central Missouri College Ag Club elects officers for 2021-2022
The North Central Missouri College AG Club/PAS chapter has elected officers for the 2021-22 school year. Elected to offices are. President: Abby Dobbins; Brunswick, MO Secretary: Taylor Hileman; Grain Valley, MO 1st VP: Bryce Wolf; Mooresville, MO VP – Recruiting: Makayla Eads; Lathrop, MO VP – Activities: Jamie Mathis; Lawson, MO Student Representative: Jared Meisberger; […]
National FFA announces in-person convention with a virtual program for 2021
The National FFA Organization announced that they would hold their annual in-person convention this fall in the city of Indianapolis. The event, which traditionally brings more than 65,000 attendees, will take place Oct. 27-30. Expected in-person events during the convention include the American FFA Degree Ceremony; Career Success Tours; competitive events; delegate business sessions; entertainment; […]
Free testing aims to curb STIs that went unchecked as COVID spread in Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – As the case counts of the novel coronavirus began to tick up last March across Missouri, providers who offer tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) found their resources were being pulled in two directions. Swabs were in short supply as they became needed for COVID-19 testing. Contact tracers, who reach out to […]
Missouri eases rules for building CAFOs despite outcry about potential pollution
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri regulators on Tuesday eased the rules governing the design of massive industrial hog facilities in a move critics claim was meant to help one controversial facility. The state’s Clean Water Commission voted 5-1 to narrow the definition of groundwater in the state’s rules governing the construction of “concentrated animal feeding operations” […]
Braymer man now faces federal indictment in $215,000 fraud scheme
A Braymer, Missouri, man was indicted by a federal grand jury for a $215,000 cattle fraud scheme that he attempted to cover up by murdering two Wisconsin brothers. Garland Joseph Nelson, 27, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. The indictment charges Nelson with one count of […]
Consider feeding pigs to higher weights when feed costs, hog prices go up
When feed prices go up, swine producers usually see profits go down. That’s not the case in 2021. This gives producers an opportunity to look at feeding to heavier weights despite higher feed costs, says University of Missouri Extension swine nutritionist Marcia Shannon. Higher market weights result in dramatic net gains per pig under current […]
Advocates fear homeless crisis with federal eviction moratorium on shaky legal ground
(Missouri Independent) – At least once a day, housing advocate Melissa Pashia speaks to someone living in a car. Once the situation gets to this point, it’s hard to get people back into stable housing, said Pashia, a housing resource specialist for the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council. “Landlords don’t want to […]
Audio: Conservative group wants to send gas tax hike to Missouri voters
(Missouri Independent) – On Monday morning, Jeremy Cady, state director of Americans for Prosperity, filed paperwork with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office to begin the process of putting the 12.5-cents a gallon tax increase on a statewide ballot. To succeed in forcing a referendum on the bill, the campaign would have to gather about 110,000 […]
Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce to honor two individuals, two businesses and one organization at chamber banquet
Two individuals, two businesses, and one organization will be honored by the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce during its annual banquet/meeting on Friday, June 4, at the Black Silo Winery. The five honorees will be recognized for their service to the community, with M.G. Kennedy and Dan Wilford being named Pillars of the Community while […]
Unemployment rates in northern Missouri fluctuate slightly in March
Grundy County’s unemployment rate has dropped from what it was in February. The March jobless rate for Grundy County is 3.4% which is one-half of a percentage point less than February. That’s the same difference in the rate when compared to March of 2020. The most recent rate is based on 148 unemployed out of […]
Medicaid provider taxes imperiled as compromise on abortion issues eludes lawmakers
(Missouri Independent) – The pathway to renewing provider taxes essential to funding Medicaid before Missouri lawmakers adjourn for the year became much narrower when issues raised by abortion opponents forced removal of the taxes from a health care bill. When a conference committee met to work out differences between the House and Senate on the bill, […]
Audio: Key bills passed in the final day or days of the Missouri Legislature’s session
Another session of the Missouri Legislature has come and gone. Of the 1,559 House bills and 689 Senate bills filed this time around, 69 bills will make it to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. Here are some key bills left up to the governor to sign or veto: Missouri lawmakers vote to pump up […]
Woman from Winston injured in two-vehicle crash near Cameron
A Winston woman sustained injuries in a two-vehicle accident four miles north of Cameron Friday evening, May 14th. Sixty-eight-year-old Sandra Bridgeman was to seek her own medical attention for minor injuries. No injuries were reported for the other driver, a 17-year-old boy from Cameron. Bridgeman’s vehicle traveled north on Highway 69, and the other vehicle […]
Bill to speed Evergy and Ameren’s move to clean energy wins Missouri legislative approval
Legislation that would allow Missouri utility companies to speed their transition to renewable energy is on its way to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk just a day before the General Assembly’s session ends. The Missouri House voted 146-1 Thursday in favor of a policy — also adopted earlier this year in Kansas — that would allow utility providers, like […]
Push for disclosure of Missouri medical marijuana records runs into veto threat
(Missouri Independent) – An effort by lawmakers to require disclosure of ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses was derailed on Thursday when state regulators suggested a possible gubernatorial veto. On Tuesday, the Missouri House voted to require the Department of Health and Senior Services provide legislative oversight committees with records regarding who owns […]
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission files suit against Hiland Dairy Foods for disability discrimination
Hiland Dairy Foods, a Missouri-based producer and distributor of dairy products, violated federal law when it refused to hire a man to work in its Norman, Okla. plant because he was vision-impaired, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed. According to the suit, Hiland interviewed the man, toured the plant with […]
Audio: Missouri is close to requiring sales tax for those shopping online
Missouri is close to requiring out-of-state companies to collect sales taxes from Missouri residents buying from them online. The state House has sent back to the Senate a bill that would include income tax cuts to help offset the expected revenue increase. Representative J. Eggleston of northwest Missouri’s Maysville, carried the bill in the House. […]