Marijuana leaf news graphic (Image from Adopbe Stock Images)

Audio: Missouri’s U.S. House members vote along party lines to decriminalize marijuana

The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted largely along party lines in favor of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. Missouri’s Democratic members voted in support and Republicans voted against the plan. GOP Congresswoman Ann Wagner did not vote on the measure. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, would remove […]

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 […]

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 […]

Accident Graphic

Kirksville teen injured in Putnam County crash

The highway patrol reports the driver of a car was hurt when she attempted to avoid an oncoming vehicle in southeastern Putnam County. Seventeen-year-old Audrey Danielson of Kirksville was taken by private vehicle to Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville with minor injuries. The accident happened Saturday afternoon four miles south of Martinstown on Highway […]

Accident-Crash graphic

Two area teenagers injured in crash near Ravanna

The Highway Patrol reports two area residents sustained moderate injuries when a car struck a fence five miles west of Ravanna Saturday at 1:05 in the morning. A private vehicle transported the driver, 18-year-old Luka Nichols of Princeton, to Wright Memorial Hospital of Trenton. An ambulance transported the passenger, 17-year-old Maci Lisle of Bethany, to […]

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 […]

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 […]