(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 […]
(Missouri Independent) – Approving video lottery would produce more than 10 times the new state revenue of sports wagering and drive cash-prize video games of debated legality out of Missouri, a newly updated report contends. The report, prepared by Morowitz Gaming Advisors LLC and Global Gaming & Hospitality Capital Advisors LLC and paid for by companies that […]
Farmers who plant cover crops will be eligible for crop insurance premium subsidies worth $5 an acre for the second year in a row. To qualify for the payments from USDA, farmers must report their cover crop acreage to the Farm Service Agency by March 15. Last year, USDA made payments totaling $59.5 million for 12.2 million acres of cover […]
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, […]
(Missouri Independent) – With a deadline looming that could cost Missouri almost $2 billion in federal education aid, the bill to distribute the money passed the state Senate on Wednesday after Democrats slammed a zero-dollar funding line as a partisan attack on Planned Parenthood. The $4.6 billion spending bill approved on a 25-7 vote is the first legislation requiring […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to failing to pay more than $2.8 million in payroll taxes from his business and more than $1.1 million in personal income taxes. Rex Tarwater, 66, of Sunrise Beach, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri’s state health department has applied to oversee federal family planning funds, a move reproductive health advocates fear would give the state power to cut off funding for providers who refer patients for abortion services. During his confirmation hearing late last month, former Department of Health and Senior Services Director Donald Kauerauf’s […]
Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year have until March 15, 2022, to sign a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers these two safety net programs to provide vital income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in […]
The Trenton City Council Monday night adopted two ordinances and accepted three bids. Financing is complete on $2,500,000 to make improvements at the Trenton water treatment plant. The council voted six to nothing to enter into a lease-purchase transaction with Central Bank of the Midwest at Kansas City as the lessor and Missouri Association of […]
A Missouri, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for selling millions of dollars in stolen catalytic converters to companies in Missouri, Texas, and Louisiana. James Spick, 56, of Independence, was charged in a 26-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Tuesday, Feb. 8. The indictment […]
USDA has extended the deadline to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage and Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for the program year 2022. The deadline to apply for 2022 coverage is now March 25, 2022. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to support dairy farmers and rural communities, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened DMC […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided an update at the Cattle Industry Convention on forthcoming assistance for agricultural producers impacted by weather-related disasters in calendar years 2020 and 2021. “Over the past two years, as agricultural producers have struggled with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have been hard-hit by more frequent and […]
(Missouri Independent) – Congressional Democrats on Wednesday touted conservation programs for farmers and ranchers as key tools for limiting agriculture’s impact on the global climate as they took initial steps to create the next farm bill. One Republican’s response: So what? “We’ve talked primarily about climate change, and I gotta to be honest with you,” […]
The Board of Education of the Princeton R-V School District of Mercer County, Missouri approved a parameters resolution at a regular meeting on November 8, 2021, that authorized a final terms committee consisting of Rick Ellsworth, Board President, Jerry Girdner, Superintendent, and Larry J. Hart, CEO of L.J. Hart & Company. The resolution approved the […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds ranchers and livestock producers that they may be eligible for financial assistance through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) for 2021 grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. The deadline to apply for 2021 LFP assistance is Jan. 31, 2022. “Ongoing, widespread drought conditions have resulted in significant financial losses […]
(Missouri Independent) – A circuit judge will determine whether St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is entitled to claim privilege for her communications with political donors and key figures in the 2018 investigation of former Gov. Eric Greitens, the Eastern District Missouri Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The court affirmed a 2020 decision by St. Louis […]
Trenton city sales tax revenue is up more than eight percent for general purposes, capital projects, parks, fire department needs, and transportation. That’s for the period May through January, which are the first nine months of Trenton’s fiscal year, compared to the same period a year ago. In dollar figures, the city sales tax for […]
(Missouri Independent) – Tracie Engelmeyer was among hundreds of bus drivers who were furloughed in St. Louis County in March 2020 because of the pandemic. School-district authorities told them that even though drivers are contracted labor, they would qualify for unemployment benefits and urged them to apply. Engelmeyer recalled the conversation she had with a […]
(Missouri Independent) – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack faced questions on how his agency is doling out emergency pandemic aid and fostering collaboration with historically Black colleges during a Thursday hearing before the House Agriculture Committee. Committee Chairman David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, asked Vilsack for “critical updates on the implementation of pandemic relief programs, including […]
A former Kansas man pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzling $3.1 million from his employer and failing to pay nearly $1 million in taxes owed to the federal government and the state of Kansas. Richard Scott Simkins, 56, now residing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty […]
