Mentally disabled woman and nurse or caretaker wearing a surgica

Missouri launches apprenticeships for direct-support professionals

Missouri is launching an apprenticeship program to expand talent pipelines for Direct Support Professionals, who work with people with developmental disabilities. The Show-Me State, like many others, is facing a serious direct-care workforce shortage. To answer the need, the program Missouri Talent Pathways was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Duane Shumate, the state coordinator […]

USDA Sign

USDA offers CLEAR30 option for producers to enroll land with expiring conservation contracts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing the signup period for its Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers initiative (CLEAR30) — a nationwide opportunity for certain landowners and agricultural producers currently implementing water quality practices through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to enroll in 30-year contracts, extending the lifespan and strengthening the benefits of important water quality […]

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

Supreme Court to hear case against Proposition 12 by National Pork Producers Council and American Farm Bureau Federation

The U.S. Supreme Court at its Mar. 25 conference agreed to hear a case brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation against California’s Proposition 12, which bans the sale of pork from hogs born to sows that weren’t raised according to the state’s “arbitrary” production standards. “We are extremely […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo courtesy Wikipedia

Senate winds up grueling Supreme Court hearings on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination

(Missouri Independent) –  Representatives of the American Bar Association reiterated their finding that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is well qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and law enforcement groups rebutted GOP accusations Jackson is soft on child pornographers during the final day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings Thursday. Republicans, however, called in witnesses to […]

Emily Hartley photo courtesy Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council

Emily Hartley appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Advisory Committee for Missouri

Emily Hartley, Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council Deputy Director, was appointed to the Missouri Advisory Committee by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, effective Feb. 18, 2022.   Advisory Committees have recently examined water affordability, school discipline disparities, policing practices, mental health and the criminal justice system, legal financial obligations, fair housing, hate crimes, voting rights, maternal […]

Hedrick Medical Center

Hedrick Medical Center Recognized as a Missouri AIM Star facility

Hedrick Medical Center has been recognized as a Missouri AIM Star by the Missouri Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health. The recognition signifies the hospital’s completion of the organization’s Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy Collaborative. Hypertension, known as high blood pressure, can have a devastating effect on a mother and baby. Pre-eclampsia, a condition signaled by high blood […]

Class Action Lawsuit Graphic

St. Louis jail inmates file class action lawsuit alleging guards torture them with mace

(Missouri Independent) – Inmates at St. Louis’ primary jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday accusing guards of torture with mace and depriving them of water for days. The inmates are represented by a team of attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, ArchCity Defenders, the SLU Law Legal Clinics, and Rights Behind Bars.  “They spray chemical agents […]