A Columbia, Missouri, man and two others have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in Boone County, Missouri. Eapen George Thampy, 35, of Columbia, Mo.; Craig Dewitt Smith, Jr., also known as “Carson,” 37, of Central Point, Ore.; and Michael John Ricketts, 57, of Union, […]
Legislation that is aimed at preventing the Grain Belt Express project from using eminent domain across northern Missouri is heading to the state Senate. The House voted 115-35 on Thursday to give final approval to Frankford State Representative Jim Hansen’s bill, which says NO private entity has the power of eminent domain to build above-ground […]
Public schools in Missouri would be able to teach elective courses on the Bible if one representative’s bill makes its way through the Missouri Senate, though some argue they already can. The Senate Education Committee heard the bill Tuesday which has already passed the House. That’s bill sponsor Representative Ben Baker, a Republican […]
Legislation aimed at the proposed Grain Belt project in northern Missouri has received initial approval by the Missouri House. Frankford State Representative Jim Hansen’s legislation says NO private entity has the power of eminent domain for the purposes of building above-ground merchant lines. The Missouri Public Service Commission announced in March it’s approved […]
Jonathan Burnfin from Trenton, MO has been chosen as this year’s NCMC Academic Excellence Award winner. Jonathan recently graduated from NCMC in December with his Associate in Arts degree and is currently attending Missouri Western State University obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Business Management. His name will be engraved on a plaque in Geyer Hall […]
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees approved tuition and fees as well as room and board for the 2019-2020 academic year at its meeting Tuesday evening. Tuition and fees increased for everything, except Dual Credit and Early College. Tuition will be $87 per credit hour for NCMC district students, $148 for other Missouri […]
Automatic absentee voting equipment will be tested at the Livingston County Courthouse in Chillicothe next week. Representatives of political parties, news media, candidates, and the public are invited to attend the testing Tuesday morning, February 19 at 10 o’clock. Livingston County Clerk Shelly Parks reports the testing is done to comply with state law.
Hands off Amendment 1. That’s the message from supporters of the “Clean Missouri’ ballot initiative to state lawmakers, who begin the 100th General Assembly next week. The anti-gerrymandering measure passed by 62 percent of the vote in November, but Gov. Mike Parson and several legislators are already calling for major changes. Joan VonDras with the Sierra Club’s […]
A publication claims the National Rifle Association may have improperly coordinated political advertising with Republican Josh Hawley’s campaign for the U.S. Senate. The Trace, a division of the left-leaning Mother Jones magazine says Federal Communications Commission records show NRA ads in favor of Hawley were placed by the same consultant group that secured […]
Northwest Missouri State University will honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual Celebration Week, which begins with a service day and its annual peace brunch. “The purpose of MLK week this year is to provide educational history on Dr. King. We want to provide information on Dr. King that you may […]
Niche.com ranks Missouri 39th in the nation in teacher pay. Paul Katnik, Assistant Commissioner of Missouri’s Office of Educator Quality, says the state’s school teachers make roughly 49,000-dollars annually. A Vanderbilt University study says teacher merit pay for student performance has merit. During Tuesday’s State Board of Education meeting, Katnik discussed the study […]
Missouri Congress members are sharply divided along party lines over support for President Trump’s demand for a border wall to end a government shutdown. Republican Representative Vicky Hartzler says she was against a bill passed by a voice vote in the GOP controlled Senate in December to temporarily fund the government without wall funding. […]
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office has responded to allegations that he illegally used public resources to help his U.S. Senate campaign. It said the accusations are a “frivolous act of political harassment” from a well-known Democratic operative who heads a leftist political organization. Fellow Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has launched […]
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is starting an investigation into the operations of Attorney General Josh Hawley. The probe will look at accusations that Hawley used taxpayer money to support his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Ashcroft’s office sent a letter Thursday confirming the investigation to Democratic strategist Brad Woodhouse. Woodhouse heads […]
People languishing in federal prison for decades on nonviolent drug convictions may get a new chance at justice if the U.S. Senate finds the political will to pass sentencing reform in the final weeks of the lame-duck session. Groups on both left and right on the political spectrum support the First Step Act, a series of […]
Longtime Trenton educator and author Thomas Virgil Brown died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in Trenton of natural causes. He was 94. Mr. Brown, Tom to his family and many friends, was born Aug. 9, 1924, on his parents’ farmstead just north of Melbourne in Harrison County, the son of Thomas Armfield Brown, a state legislator, […]
A University of Missouri expert has advice for the discussion of politics at the dinner table during holiday get-togethers. Political Science Professor Andrea Benjamin says misunderstandings can be avoided if ground rules are set and goals of the conversation are determined. Don’t try to change peoples’ minds. Benjamin uses her sports allegiance to […]
Governor Mike Parson has appointed a Chillicothe attorney, Ryan Horsman, as a Circuit Judge of the 43rd Judicial Circuit, Division 1 with five counties comprising the circuit: Livingston, Daviess, DeKalb, Caldwell, and Clinton. Horsman won the August 2018 primary election for the position and ran unopposed in the November general election. He fills a vacancy […]
The Democratic Party in Missouri is trying to regroup after disappointing midterm election results. Among other things, state Auditor Nicole Galloway won a relatively close contest against a troubled Republican opponent. University of Missouri-Columbia Political Scientist Peverill Squire thinks the result indicates a statewide voter tilt toward Republican candidates. Among other things, state […]
There’s disagreement among farmers over the Clean Missouri ballot measure to redraw voting districts. The Missouri Farm Bureau opposes the proposal, claiming it would weaken the power of rural voters. Mid-Missouri cattle rancher Susan Williams says Cooper County where she lives is already disenfranchised because it’s divided into four legislative districts. Former Missouri […]
