Unemployment Benefits Graphic

Missouri Senate hears bipartisan push to forgive mistakenly overpaid unemployment benefits

(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 […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

December jobs report shows Missouri unemployment rate drops to 3.3 percent

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from November 2021 to December 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 16,700 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in December 2021, […]

Jobs Report

Missouri monthly job report shows unemployment rate at 3.5 percent

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from October 2021 to November 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,600 jobs over the month, with job gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in November […]

United States Supreme Court (Phot credit Laura Olson - States Newsroom)

Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate

(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 — though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys general […]

Armando Gutierrez Booking Photo

Milan man arrested on domestic assault allegation

Milan Police report the arrest of Armando Mauro Gutierrez following an investigation last week for an alleged assault in Milan. According to Police Chief Gail Hayes, Gutierrez was accused of an incident last Wednesday night and turned himself in the next day at the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department. Gutierrez is charged with third-degree domestic assault. […]

Phone Scam

Missouri Attorney General joins others in working to stop international scam calls

The Missouri Attorney General urged the Federal Communications Commission to put in place measures that will help stem the tide of foreign-based illegal robocalls that attempt to scam Americans. “Combating annoying, and sometimes dangerous, robocalls is an important mission of the Attorney General’s Office. Using the latest technology and working with telecom partners to control […]

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Pattonsburg woman faces multiple felonies after allegedly setting her house on fire and firing weapon at individual

A Pattonsburg woman faces multiple felonies after she allegedly set her house on fire and shot a gun at someone who stopped to help on January 6th. Online court information indicates 31-year-old Jessica Reid has been charged with first-degree assault or attempt, first-degree arson, armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon involving exhibiting. […]

Scott Fitzpatrick

Missouri schools must comply with COVID ruling to win treasurer approval of bond deals

(Missouri Independent) – If school districts want to take advantage of a lower interest rate on bonds, Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is requiring them to certify compliance with a recent court ruling targeting local health orders before his office will approve of the deal. Fitzpatrick detailed the decision he described as “unprecedented” in an interview Wednesday […]

School buses wait Tuesday outside Thomas Hart Benton Elementary School in Columbia (Photo Credit Rudi Keller Missouri Independent

Confusion around COVID ruling swirls as two Missouri school districts end semester early

(Missouri Independent) – As a growing number of Missouri school districts drop COVID mitigation measures under threat from Attorney General Eric Schmitt, at least two closed the doors on their fall semester early due to large numbers of staff and students out sick. Meanwhile, local public health departments said Tuesday they still have not heard […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

Missouri’s unemployment rate drops two-tenths of a percentage point in November to 3.5%

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from October 2021 to November 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,600 jobs over the month, with job gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in November […]