(Missouri Independent) – Missouri voters on Tuesday repealed a constitutional amendment they enacted in 2018 that would have required legislative districts be drawn to ensure partisan fairness. They replaced it with one that critics contend could forgo the use of total population to draw districts and instead exclude all non-voters, specifically children and non-citizens — tilting the political […]
Grundy County experienced a 76 percent voter turnout in yesterday’s general election – favoring Republicans in their races and each of the unopposed Republican candidates for countywide offices. Donald Trump received 81 percent of the presidential vote from Grundy County while Joseph Biden had 18 percent of the vote. Also receiving huge majority support in […]
Missouri is gearing up for Tuesday’s general election. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says initial election results will not be posted online Tuesday night until his office has confirmed that polls across the state are closed. Polling precincts are open statewide from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ashcroft expects about 70 percent of […]
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Missouri’s three-year loan default rate decreased two-tenths of a percent, keeping Missouri’s rate lower than many of its neighboring states and on par with the national rate. Missouri’s student loan default rate dropped from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent. The national rate decreased from 10.1 percent to 9.7 […]
October was cooler and significantly drier than normal in Trenton. The .46 of an inch of rain and melted snow was 2.77 below normal for the month. Looking at the situation with a different perspective, the October total of .46 inches represented just 14 percent of the normal amount of 3.23 inches. It was the […]
There were 80 people who voted absentee for Tuesday’s General Election during special hours on Saturday morning at the Grundy County Clerk’s office in Trenton. Another 20 people voted absentee early Saturday afternoon after making reservations with the Grundy County Clerk’s Office to vote at curbside. The clerk’s office previously had announced it would allow […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri family that was denied a license to grow medical marijuana alleged in court this week that outside groups and individuals had undue access to top state officials — and that access led to an opaque process and contributed to the decision to cap the number of licenses granted. To buttress […]
North Central Missouri Development Alliance Board Member Jackie Soptic says technology and the internet have revolutionized economic development. Site selectors and companies can visit a location from their home or office by reading statistics and demographic information. The United States Census also provides data on demographics. Soptic says that data should be used […]
(Missouri Independent) – State governments are unique political bodies that allow for experimentation in how rules and laws affect political outputs. As Justice Louis Brandies pointed out – states are laboratories of democracy. State governments have broad jurisdiction to “tweak” institutional rules and laws. Through this system of government, we can observe the aftermath of […]
The two main gubernatorial candidates are focusing on rural Missouri again Friday and during the final days of the campaign. Governor Mike Parson (R) brings his “Mike works bus tour” to four rural western Missouri towns: his hometown of Bolivar, as well as Clinton, Belton, and El Dorado Springs. He’ll finish Friday evening in Springfield. […]
A Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy that distributed more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine in southern Missouri. Eric Eugene Akins, 54, of Monett, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 12 years in federal prison without parole. On Jan. 21, 2020, Akins pleaded guilty […]
A Trenton resident. William Edwards Grimes the fourth was ordered to serve time in jail in lieu of paying the balance of money owed to the court. Grimes is to serve 14 days at the Grundy county detention center to compensate for still owing $120.50 on a conviction of violating a protection order for an […]
At the Cromley Farm, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced that EPA is approving new five-year registrations for two dicamba products and extending the registration of an additional dicamba product. All three registrations include new control measures to ensure these products can be used effectively while protecting the environment, including non-target plants, animals, […]
(Missouri Independent) – When Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, they were told by the ballot language that the price tag was unknown, with possible costs at $200 million stated alongside $1 billion in potential savings. What is known for certain is that about 250,000 Missourians will become eligible for coverage next year — […]
(Missouri Independent) – For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Department of Health and Senior Services made some — but not all — of its data on the coronavirus outbreak available to download this week. In a new tab on its website, DHSS now includes accessible data breaking down tests, cases, and […]
(Missouri Independent) – Two minutes into our interview, I counted five yawns as the young teacher from southwest Missouri caught herself, and apologetically assured me that my questions weren’t dull. “I just feel like I am working all the time,” she added. “I don’t know how I am going to keep doing this for the […]
Missouri has had 800 traffic-related deaths so far this year. During the same period last year, Missouri had 711. During a Missouri Chamber of Commerce Transportation Summit, MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna says the spike in traffic deaths have occurred despite fewer drivers on the roadways. During a Missouri Chamber of Commerce Transportation Summit, […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced earlier today a new, first of its kind initiative to combat instances of human trafficking by targeting illicit massage businesses across the state. The Hope Initiative targets illicit massage businesses that may be engaging in human trafficking and advertising on illicit websites while posing as a legitimate business. The initiative’s […]
Remedial education rates continue to decline at Missouri’s public colleges and universities, potentially reducing the amount of time and money it takes for many students to earn a degree. The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development recently published its Annual Report on the Condition of College and Career Readiness, showing the number of […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that on October 15, 2020, Tashe Beach pled guilty in the Circuit Court of St. Louis City to two class D felonies of Abuse of a Person Receiving Health Care, one Class C felony of Financial Exploitation of Elderly Persons, one Class D felony of Financial Exploitation of Elderly […]
