The United States Attorney’s Office reports that Joshua J Damon, age 35, was sentenced today to serve 148 months (12.3 years) in federal prison following his guilty plea to attempted enticement of a minor. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Stephen R. Clark at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. According […]
(Missouri Independent) – The push to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri is coming from multiple directions, with a handful of proposed initiative petitions and at least one bill, and potentially more, backed by Republican lawmakers. Each hopes to place the issue on the 2022 ballot for voter approval. And each proposal also includes a […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for attempting to meet a law enforcement officer, posing online as a 14-year-old girl, for illegal sexual activity. Darren Wade Lasley, 33, Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On Aug. 18, 2021, Lasley was found […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson proposed massive new spending on infrastructure and college buildings, and still found money to set aside for pensions and future revenue shortfalls, in the budget submitted Wednesday to lawmakers. Missouri will enter the new fiscal year with nearly $3 billion in surplus general revenue, an anticipation of record future tax collections, […]
A ballot initiative in Missouri is seeking to change the way statewide elections are run. Currently, in the Show-Me State, there are party primaries in August, and voters choose between the winners of the primaries in November. The Better Elections initiative seeks to move to what’s known as ranked-choice voting. Rosetta Okohson, a Democratic consultant and co-leader of the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Proposals that would bar COVID-19 vaccine mandates and provide greater exemptions for vaccinations more broadly faced a wave of opposition from Missouri business groups Wednesday. Representatives for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Associated Industries of Missouri, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and other business associations made clear to lawmakers […]
Counsel for County Executive, Sam Page, and St. Louis County announced at a court hearing that the defendants are “rescinding” their illegal mask mandate in St. Louis County. “My Office has been on the forefront of fighting mask mandates across the state, and we have vigorously litigated against St. Louis County’s illegal mask mandates. Attorneys […]
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will make up to $800 million available to support biofuel producers and infrastructure. The announcement includes $700 million to provide economic relief to biofuel producers and restore renewable fuel markets affected by the pandemic. The Department will make the funds available through the new Biofuel Producer […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt earlier this month filed a comment letter during the comment period of a proposed USDA rule change that would affect the labeling of “fake meat” products. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has been successful in defending a Missouri state statute that prohibits the labeling of “fake meat” products as meat. […]
All votes were unanimous Monday night when the Trenton City Council adopted four ordinances and approved a resolution. Faced with two dozen additional, documented complaints on trash service, at least two members of the council called for a change in trash hauling companies. The city of Trenton’s contract with Rapid Removal Disposal doesn’t expire until […]
Actions taken Monday night by the Trenton City Council include approval of two ordinances and six motions. Two of the topics resulted in split votes of the council. With a roll call vote of six in favor and two opposed, a conditional use permit was issued by ordinance to Terry Hearn to operate a used […]
The Missouri Department of Transportation is accepting proposals until the end of this year for the reuse of the Pony Truss, Warren alternating vertical bridge on Livingston County Route C over Shoal Creek, currently located 1.4 miles northwest of Dawn. The Shoal Creek Bridge is a 1933, rigid-connected, 178-foot long bridge with a 100-foot Warren […]
A registered sex offender compliance check in Chillicothe on October 14 resulted in the arrest of a 71-year-old man about an incident on October 7 in which a man allegedly exposed his genitals to a female child inside a business. The Chillicothe Police Department reports Police Chief Jon Maples and Sheriff Steve Cox conducted an […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a 19-state coalition urging Congress to reject burdensome legislation that would increase fees on energy producers and hit American consumers with even greater price hikes. The two bills in question are the Methane Emissions Reduction Act in the Senate and a provision of the Build Back Better Act in […]
Hackers have released a massive package of passwords and source codes from Amazon’s streaming website Twitch. Information security expert Mike Masino says the hackers managed to heist a surprising amount of back-end data from Amazon and released it all on the internet. “The Twitch one looks to be just kind of an online […]
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced that should proposals pass requiring 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 account, he will not comply. “As Treasurer, I have an obligation to the nearly 200,000 MOST 529 and MO ABLE […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today sent a letter to the Department of Justice and Attorney General Garland slamming their decision to publish a memo that directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice to work with federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially prosecute parents who show up to school board meetings to […]
As part of the Administration’s efforts to address food systems challenges arising from the pandemic as well as those going back decades, United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA plans for another $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The funding would leverage hundreds of millions more in […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a comment letter opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to use “interim values” of the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases to regulate light-duty vehicles through emission standards. “The Biden Administration’s attempts to impose massive federal regulations on Missouri’s farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers could have vast negative impacts. Now, the […]
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 […]
