Missouri Governor Mike Parson delivers State address in Missouri House January 19, 2022 (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel - Missouri House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson touts Missouri’s COVID-19 response in annual State of State address

(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson praised his administration’s handling of the still-unfolding COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, telling a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly that the state has emerged ready to make long-term investments in its future.  “The bottom line is Missouri’s economy is strong,” Parson said in his annual State of the State […]

Missouri businesses oppose ban on COVID vaccine mandates, argue it’s their choice

(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 […]

Trenton R-9 School District

Trenton Board of Education hears evaluation reports on multiple programs at Tuesday meeting

The Trenton R-9 Board of Education heard evaluation reports on multiple programs on January 11th. Trenton Middle School Principal Daniel Gott presented the Health Services Evaluation Report, which was submitted by school nurses Tasha McCall and Tyann Cox. Gott said health office visits for the 2020-2021 school year included 33 for preschool, 4,237 for kindergarten […]

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 […]

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

Supreme Court appears wary of Biden vaccine-or-test employer mandate

(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared unconvinced Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses, casting doubt on a key piece of the White House COVID-19 response. The justices seemed potentially more comfortable with another Biden administration rule to fight the virus that requires certain […]

Little Otter Creek Reservoir Project

Caldwell County Commission announces the award of a contract to construct the Little Otter Creek Reservoir

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Missouri and Caldwell County Commission announced the award of a contract to construct the Little Otter Creek Reservoir. The contract for $14,400,486.75 was awarded to Phillips Hardy, Incorporated of Booneville. Under the contract, a 345-acre reservoir will supply 1.24 million gallons of raw drinking […]

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 […]

Coronavirus or COVID-19 Death

Four health departments report on new cases of COVID-19; Grundy County Health Department reports two COVID-related deaths

The Grundy County Health Department reports two additional COVID-19-related deaths. That brings the total to 56. Fifty-seven cases have been added since December 1st, making that total 1,904. There are 44 active cases. The Putnam County Health Department reports it has been made aware of 17 new COVID-19 cases since December 2nd. Two of those […]

Wright Memorial Hospital

Wright Memorial Hospital awarded national accreditation from Joint Commission

Wright Memorial Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care. Wright Memorial underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review from October 5 – […]