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Man traveling through Missouri charged with fentanyl trafficking after authorities find 9 pounds of counterfeit pills

 A California man was charged in federal court with smuggling more than four kilograms of counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl aboard a bus traveling through Kansas City, Missouri, from Los Angeles, Calif. Matthew John Gomez, 27, was charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute in a criminal complaint filed in […]

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Missouri man sentenced to 15 years without parole for meth conspiracy and illegal firearms

A Missouri man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy that, in total, distributed more than 150 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than 10 kilograms of heroin, valued at more than $1.7 million. Matthew John Fabulae, 33, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Friday, […]

Julia Child Challenge on Food Network website

Audio: Chillicothe man to compete on new Food Network cooking show inspired by Julia Child

A Chillicothe man will compete on a new cooking show inspired by Julia Child. Dustin Rennells will appear on The Julia Child Challenge, which premieres on the Food Network and Discovery+ March 14th at 8 o’clock at night Central Time. Rennells says he moved to Boston after graduating from high school in 2000. He went […]

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U.S. Senate Republicans attack Biden on energy costs, regulations after new inflation report

(Missouri Independent) – Nebraska’s Deb Fischer and fellow U.S. Senate Republicans slammed President Joe Biden on Thursday for the sharp rise in consumer prices, calling for policy shifts to increase U.S. energy supply, roll back regulations and curb spending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday the consumer price index rose nearly 8% in February over the […]

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Grand jury indicts former Missouri school principal and co-conspirator in murder for hire plot

A federal grand jury indicted Cornelius M. Green and Phillip J. Cutler on March 9, 2022, for conspiracy to commit murder for hire and murder for hire that resulted in the death of Jocelyn Peters and her unborn child in 2016.     The indictment alleges that Green and Cutler had a longstanding and close friendship […]

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Judge sentences man to life in prison for being the leader of a large-scale fentanyl distribution conspiracy

Gerald Hunter, 56, of Los Angeles, appeared before United States District Judge John A. Ross and was sentenced to life in federal prison.  Hunter was convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine, […]

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Polo man sentenced to life in Missouri prison for murder of Elizabeth Adams

A Polo man was sentenced March 3rd to life in the Missouri Department of Corrections on second-degree murder. Online court information shows 36-year-old Kevin Lynn Barnett Junior was also sentenced in Livingston County Circuit Court to seven years on unlawful possession of a firearm. The sentences are to run consecutively to each count and all […]

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White House wants $10 billion for Ukraine aid, $22.5 billion for more COVID help

(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration is asking Congress to provide $10 billion in assistance to Ukraine and $22.5 billion in COVID-19 funding on a fast timeline — within the next week. White House acting budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to lawmakers that this likely won’t be the last emergency funding request for either […]

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Missourians can now apply for mortgage assistance via federal COVID-relief funds

(Missouri Independent) – Missourians who experienced financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and are struggling to pay their mortgage can now apply for help through the State Assistance for Housing Relief (SAFHR) program. Starting March 1, the federally-funded SAFHR for Homeowners program will begin to provide nearly $140 million in assistance to homeowners to pay past-due mortgage […]

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Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]

President Joe Biden Photo provided by White House

Here’s what you will hear Biden talk about in his debut State of the Union address

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address is set to focus significantly on the economy, with the former member of the U.S. Senate calling on Congress to pass much of the agenda stalled in the so-called Build Back Better bill. During the Tuesday night speech, which begins at 9 p.m. […]

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Billions in U.S. aid for Ukraine eyed in struggle against Russian invasion

(Missouri Independent) – Congress is working quickly to determine how much military and humanitarian aid it should send to Ukraine as the war in that country continues to claim lives and send hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing as refugees. Lawmakers are working with the Biden administration to provide billions in funding at the same […]

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Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority opens grant opportunities for Missouri producers

The Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA) announces the opening of two funding opportunities, while also announcing recipients of the most recent grant cycle. MASBDA is accepting applications for two programs that add value to Missouri agricultural products and aid the economy of a rural community. The Missouri Value-Added Agriculture Grant can be used for […]

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USDA extends deadline for spot market hog pandemic program

Hog producers who sold hogs through a spot market sale during the COVID-19 pandemic now have until April 15, 2022, to submit their applications for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program. SMHPP, which is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, originally had a deadline to submit applications by Feb. 25, […]

2022 Mid America Music Festival website

Mid-America Music Festival organizers announce weekend lineup of entertainment

Mid-America Music Festival organizers have announced the weekend lineup, which features 12 country music artists.  Celebrating its fifth year, the festival will be held Friday through Sunday, August. 5 through August 7, 2022, at the Black Silo Winery in Trenton.  Headlining Friday, Aug. 5 is country music artist, Lauren Alaina.  Alaina was recently inducted as […]

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State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases

Missouri Independent) – In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says […]

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Wife of nuclear engineer pleads guilty to espionage-related offense; will serve 3-years in federal prison

A woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships. Her husband pleaded guilty to the same offense on Monday, Feb. 14. Diana Toebbe, 46, of Annapolis, Maryland, was arrested on Oct. 9, 2021, for knowingly and voluntarily joining a conspiracy with her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, to communicate […]