(Missouri Independent) – Tying quarantine requirements to the Saint Louis University face mask requirement successfully reduced the number of students sent to isolation and helped cut COVID-19 infections this spring, according to a study published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under the university’s rules, students without masks who had close contact […]
Tag: policy
Audio: Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins addresses members at annual meeting in Trenton
Grundy County Farm Bureau members heard Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins addressed multiple topics at the county organization’s annual meeting in Trenton on September 9, 2021. One of the topics was climate change. Hawkins said he is tired of people “pointing fingers” at farmers and ranchers and saying they are the problem. […]
Former Trenton police officer receives probation on statutory rape charge after judge suspends prison sentence
A Trenton man was placed on probation after receiving a prison sentence when he pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree statutory rape of a girl that authorities said was 15 years old at the time of the offense last year. Michael Wilson, who was 25 years old at the time of his arrest in […]
In court, drug middlemen fight to limit pharmacies insured patients can use
(Missouri Independent) – In the first test of a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, drug middlemen last week argued that federal law gives them a right to limit which pharmacies patients with health insurance can use — or at least make it more expensive if patients get their medicine at a shop that isn’t preferred […]
New report indicates pandemic will cause Social Security funding shortage
The pandemic presents some future funding challenges to benefits for older Americans, according to the 2021 Social Security and Medicare Trustees’ Reports. Walt Dawson, assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Oregon Health and Science University, said the programs are foundational to Americans’ health and economic security as they age. While the reports are […]
Missouri will become the last state to enforce federal mental health parity act
(Missouri Independent) – Under a new state law that went into effect late last month, Missouri will become the final state to enforce a federal law designed to ensure mental health care is covered by insurance providers the same as treatments for physical ailments. The provisions were included in House Bill 604, an omnibus insurance bill […]
Roadblocks facing Kevin Strickland’s innocence claim is nothing new for Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Kevin Strickland was hopeful Thursday was going to be his first step towards freedom after 40 years in prison. A new law that went into effect on Aug. 28 gave Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker a legal avenue to free Strickland, who she says is innocent and wrongly incarcerated. But opposition […]
House reconciliation package would provide path to citizenship for millions
(Missouri Independent) – A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people. If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers, farmworker workers; those […]
COVID cases among children rising as Missouri Delta variant wave enters fifth month
(Missouri Independent) – Clay LaRue, superintendent of the Van Buren R-1 School District, made a tough decision Sunday. With COVID-19 cases spiking in Carter County in southeast Missouri, and many of those infections among very young children, LaRue shut down the district’s pre-kindergarten program for two weeks. He had previously directed faculty, staff, and students […]
Saint Luke’s Health System to require mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for all employees
Saint Luke’s Health System announced it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 30, 2021. The announcement comes as Kansas City has experienced a dramatic surge in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. Hospitals and health systems across Missouri and Kansas have struggled to find enough ICU beds and staff […]
Advocates press for reform before student loan repayment deadline
In January, student loan borrowers will have to start paying off their loans again, as the pandemic-related pause on payment is set to expire. Now, a new report looks at ways to fix problems in the student loan system. Report co-author Michelle Dimino – senior education policy advisor at Third Way, a public policy think tank in […]
Carroll County Memorial Hospital tightens visitor policy due to increase in local COVID-19 cases
Carroll County Memorial Hospital has experienced the highest number of COVID-19 patients since the beginning of the pandemic and locally, the cases continue to rise. Therefore, as of Saturday, August 28, CCMH will be scaling back on its visitor policies. “This change in policy is an unfortunate necessity,” said Dr. Andy Horine, Chief Medical Information […]
Trenton R-9 School District updates tracing and quarantine guidelines for COVID-19
Updated COVID-19 contact tracing and quarantine guidelines have been released for the Trenton R-9 School District. The guidelines say a positive case will be isolated for 10 days from symptom onset. Close contact will be quarantined at home for 10 days from contact with the positive case. Students who are six feet or closer to […]
Schools to continue mask rules despite legal challenge from Missouri Attorney General
(Missouri Independent) – The schools in Gov. Mike Parson’s hometown will continue to require students, teachers, and staff to wear masks indoors despite a lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general challenging public school mask mandates across the state. The Bolivar R-1 Board of Education in Polk County voted in a special meeting this month to […]
Missouri and Texas Attorney Generals prevail at Supreme Court in “Remain in Mexico” Case
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the Texas Attorney General’s Office have prevailed over the Biden Administration for a 3rd time in their lawsuit over the “Remain in Mexico” policy as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Missouri and Texas in a 6-3 denial of the Department of Justice’s appeal for an emergency stay. […]
NCMC Board of Trustees set tax levy, hear reports on various matters, and hire new employees
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees heard reports on housing and other matters on August 24. Resident Life Director Donnie Hillerman reported one new residence hall is open, and he hopes the other new residence hall will open September 1st. There are some displaced students currently staying in Selby Hall in the wing […]
Missouri Attorney General joins 20 state coalition fighting unlawful rewrite of federal gun laws
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a 20-state coalition led by West Virginia and Arizona in arguing against the Biden administration’s proposed regulation of firearm parts. In addition to joining the coalition’s comment letter, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a separate, but similar, comment letter. The coalition’s comment letter can be found at this […]
FDA gives full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
The U.S. has its first fully approved vaccine against COVID-19, with federal health officials announcing Monday the approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine. The green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to move Pfizer’s vaccine from emergency use to full approval is a milestone in the national pandemic response, and one that comes as the […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]