U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce new legislation to give blue-collar workers a pay raise. For nearly four decades, workers making below the median wage have experienced stagnant wages, and this past year, the problem has been made worse by unprecedented layoffs, reduced hours, and income disruptions due to the government shutting down […]
(Missouri Independent) – The plan for distributing money directly to Missouri counties in the current version of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill is pretty simple – each gets $195.44 per person. But for cities, instead of a formula based on population, Congress divvies up the money using the method for determining Community Development Block Grant allocations. […]
(Missouri Independent) – Last spring, as Missouri businesses shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, Gov. Mike Parson warned that the state was headed for the worst financial crunch since the 2008 recession. Ten months later, Parson presented a budget plan that anticipates a $1.1 billion surplus on July 1, the biggest in state history. And if the $1.9 trillion pandemic […]
(Missouri Independent) – Thousands of Missourians facing repayment of mistakenly paid unemployment benefits would get some relief under legislation passed with a bipartisan vote Wednesday in a Missouri House committee. The bill, which will likely be debated on the House floor next week, would forgive debts due to overpayments from federal coronavirus relief programs but would not […]
Missouri has intercepted millions in stimulus money from people who owe child support. The CARES Act passed by U.S. Congress last year allowed states to block the first stimulus payment to people who owed child support. Governor Parson’s office says the Missouri Legislature passed a bill during last November’s special session that allows […]
Missouri lawmakers in both parties say residents who received unemployment overpayments due to the state’s mistake should be able to keep that money. The Missouri House Government Oversight Committee is set to vote Monday on several bipartisan bills, requiring state Labor officials to waive non-fraudulent unemployment overpayments. State Labor director Anna Hui has […]
Sentencing was held in Daviess County on February 10th for a former Coffey city clerk who pled guilty in November to felony stealing and forgery charges. Online court information shows Mary Lou Browning was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for five years each on stealing $750 or more and two counts of forgery. She […]
A Florida man pleaded guilty for fraudulently obtaining approximately $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a $318,000 Lamborghini sports car for himself. Federal investigators linked the sports car to Hines after he was involved in a hit and run on July 11, the Miami Herald reported. […]
Refinancing three long-term loans with the use of lower interest rates is expected to save the city of Trenton $55,000 per year or as much as $798,000 over the life of the loans. The Trenton City Council on Monday night voted seven to nothing to allow Utility Director City Administrator Ron Urton to sign disclosures […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending the Conservation Reserve Program General Signup period, which had previously been announced as ending on Feb. 12, 2021. USDA will continue to accept offers as it takes this opportunity for the incoming Administration to evaluate ways to increase enrollment. Under the previous Administration, incentives and rental payment rates […]
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush wants Congress to give Americans monthly checks of $2,000 until the pandemic is over with. Bush, a Democrat from St. Louis, says the payments should be retroactive – from the beginning of the pandemic. During an appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, she says she wants people to get […]
Trenton city sales tax receipts are up around 6% for general purposes, capital projects, and parks in the first ten months of the city’s fiscal year, which is May through February. During that same period, Trenton city sales tax revenues are up by nearly 7% for fire department needs and up 7-1/2% for transportation, which […]
Missouri’s governor is downplaying news reports of tension between him and House Speaker Rob Vescovo, saying there’s been hype in the media. Governor Mike Parson says he’ll move forward with the House and the Senate. The governor wrote a recent three-page letter, criticizing House GOP leaders for disrupting last week’s plans to hold the State […]
Missouri’s governor announced Thursday in Jefferson City that there have been issues with the COVID vaccine distribution process, and warns that there will be consequences for vaccinators that allow people to jump the line. Governor Mike Parson briefed Capitol reporters during a Statehouse press conference, emphasizing that his administration will vaccinate the most vulnerable and […]
The Missouri House oversight committee chairman says the state overpaid more than 100-million dollars in unemployment benefits last year, and he’s hearing that some residents are being told they’ll have to repay up to 12-thousand dollars. House Special Committee on Government Oversight chair Jered Taylor of Nixa tells Missourinet it’s important to find out what […]
We’ll learn new details this week about what caused unemployment overpayments and the Missouri Department of Labor’s subsequent request for reimbursement. Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth has the update. The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight has called a Tuesday hearing, where they’ll hear testimony from State Labor Director Anna Hui (pronounced hue). The […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missourians who were mistakenly paid unemployment benefits by the state should be required to pay that money back, Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday. The Missouri Department of Labor told St. Louis Public Radio last week that the state overpaid roughly $96 million in unemployment benefits between January and September last year. The errors were […]
A Washington man pleaded guilty today to perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s […]
The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division is warning taxpayers about a new wave of COVID-19-related scams as the agency delivers the second round of Economic Impact Payments. For more than half a year, IRS-CI has seen a variety of Economic Impact Payment scams and other financial schemes designed to steal money and personal information […]
The judge faced a busy docket on Thursday, January 15, 2021, in Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court. Probation was revoked for Trenton resident Emily Marie Hendee when she admitted to violations. The court ordered her to serve previously-imposed sentences with the Department of Corrections, including five years for passing a bad check and […]
