Families in Missouri have been receiving Child Tax Credit payments of $300 to $350 a month per child since the summer, and one local expert says making them permanent could benefit families long-term, across the nation. So far, 45% of Missouri families have reported using their payments for food, 33% for essential bills, and 30% […]
(Missouri Independent) – After a historic cold snap depleted natural gas reserves in February, prices for heating could be as much as 30% higher this winter, prompting concerns about increasing bills for Kansas and Missouri customers. Kansas is already grappling with the $1 billion fallout from this winter’s cold snap when natural gas prices rose by […]
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and the nine other Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans wrote to President Joe Biden to oppose his administration’s reported plan to offer illegal immigrants up to $450,000 per person in taxpayer dollars to settle lawsuits resulting from those individuals’ violating U.S. immigration law. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), […]
The University of Missouri Extension will offer free workshops in December to help farmers and ranchers with tax-related issues. The workshops will be held in several locations on December 1 and 2, 2021, from 6:15 to 8:30 in the evening. Area locations for December 1 include the Mercer County Extension Center of Princeton, Forage Systems Research Center […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released an audit of Maries County, located in central Missouri. The report, which gave the county an overall performance rating of “good,” recommends several changes to policies and procedures to improve accountability and transparency for taxpayers. The most recent previous audit of Maries County was completed in 2017, with the county receiving an […]
The Missouri Public Service Commission’s Cold Weather Rule, designed to help customers with heat-related utility bills, begins on November 1, 2021. The rule will remain in effect through March 31, 2022. It has been a part of the Commission’s rules and regulations since 1977. The Cold Weather Rule applies to natural gas and electric utilities […]
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Kansas City man on October 20, 2021, on four felony counts of non-support with total arrears in excess of 12 monthly payments due under an order of support. Fifty-five-year-old Byron Ray Dickerson was arrested in Jackson County and extradited to Grundy County. His bond totals […]
Trenton city sales tax receipts are up more than six percent for general purposes and capital projects and up more than seven percent for parks, fire department needs, and transportation. Those figures are for the first half of this fiscal year, May through October, compared to the same period a year ago. In dollar figures, […]
The Galt Board of Aldermen accepted the resignation of an alderman on October 13. It was also announced the city’s electric system will have a transfer of services. Alderman at Large Tony Grindstaff resigned, and his position was declared vacant. A new alderman will be appointed at the November meeting. The person appointed will fill […]
An online tool is now available to help ranchers document and estimate payments to cover feed transportation costs caused by drought, which are now covered by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated the program this year to include feed transportation costs as well as […]
Four defendants waived preliminary hearings on Tuesday in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court. Stephanie Miller of Trenton is charged with felony possession of a controlled substance as of July 15th. Richard Dale Leeper of Trenton is charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia as of September 16th. Brandon Tyler May of Trenton […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway has issued an audit report of Daviess County’s financial statements for the two years ended December 31st, 2020. McBride, Lock, and Associates performed the audit. There were recommendations in the contracted audit of Daviess County. One involved the prosecuting attorney’s office implementing internal controls to ensure the timely collection of restitution […]
The State of Missouri has created and made available spending toolkits to help local governments identify allowable uses for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) local funds. “We want to assist our local partners in making strategic, responsible investments that will serve Missourians for generations to come,” Governor Mike Parson said. “Our first priority is to ensure taxpayer […]
Evergy has received customer reports today of individuals placing phone calls to customers and claiming to be Evergy representatives. The individuals are asking customers for immediate payment to avoid service disconnection. These representatives are not employees of Evergy. For past-due accounts, calls from Evergy requesting payment are never made the same day as the disconnection. […]
The Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced he has joined a coalition of 22 State Treasurers and state financial officers to speak out against proposals that would require financial institutions to turn over private citizens’ personal bank account information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if they exceed $600 of inflows or outflows from the […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing additional time for livestock and poultry producers to apply for the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program. Producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing may now apply for assistance for those losses and the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animals through Oct. […]
A Missouri business owner who engaged in a $4 million scheme to defraud his customers was sentenced in federal court for tax evasion after failing to pay more than $768,000 in state and federal taxes. “Not only did this defendant steal millions of dollars from his customers, but he stole from the public by evading […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced today the results of a citizen-initiated audit of the Marshall Public Schools in Saline County. Galloway announced in February that a petition of qualified voters within the Marshall School District boundary triggered an audit by her office. The report, which gives a rating of “fair,” makes several recommendations to improve accounting controls and […]
A report from State Auditor Nicole Galloway finds that Monroe City has implemented some recommendations from a 2020 audit, but that other concerns remain. The June 2020 audit of Monroe City was initiated through a citizen petition, which required 200 valid signatures of qualified voters in the city. That audit highlighted concerns in several areas, including city […]
Trenton city sales tax revenue is up nearly 13 percent for general purposes and capital projects, and up more than 14 percent for parks, fire department needs, and transportation. Those numbers in the first five months of Trenton’s fiscal year, May through September 2021, compared to the same period a year ago. In dollar figures, […]
