Mobs of thieves have hit up retailers around the country recently by quickly raiding stores and taking off with piles of merchandise in a matter of minutes. State Representative Lane Roberts, a Republican from southwest Missouri’s Joplin, is sponsoring a bill meant to address these organized theft crime rings, such as so-called smash-and-grab crimes. A […]
(Missouri Independent) – A handful of Republican lawmakers lashed out at the state’s medical marijuana industry Thursday, lobbing accusations of corruption into a Missouri House debate over whether to make it harder to amend the state’s Constitution. On a mostly party-line 98-53 vote, the Missouri House signed off on legislation Thursday that would require a two-thirds […]
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education will discuss a 2022-2023 school calendar proposal and the school start time next week. The board will meet in the high school library on February 14th at 5:30 in the evening. Other items on the agenda include updates on the United States Department of Agriculture grant for transportation, the […]
The Chillicothe City Council will consider approval of ordinances involving zoning and a topographical survey. The council will meet at the Chillicothe Municipal Utilities meeting room on Monday, February 14th at 5:30 pm. One ordinance would amend the zoning of a portion of the property at 1500 Third Street from P-1 Public to R-3 High-Density […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri House approved a $4.6 billion supplemental spending bill Wednesday that would give all state workers a pay raise. But lawmakers refused to go along with Gov. Mike Parson’s plan for a $15 an hour base wage for all state employees, instead offering that salary only to select workers. The bill would also […]
The Grundy County Commission on February 8th voted to proceed with ordering a 911 radio console from Command 1 for $269,767. This is instead of building a whole radio system, which was allowed in the request for proposals. The commission also accepted a quote from Command 1 for a radio for a new ambulance for […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to spend up to $1 billion to foster the creation of climate-friendly agricultural and forestry products by offering grants to facilitate their production and the markets to sell them. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon in those industries. “Agriculture is such […]
(Missouri Independent) – Cannabis dispensaries throughout the country came one step closer to using banks the way many other businesses can when the U.S. House on Friday cleared a bill with sweeping changes to banking regulations. Colorado Democrat Ed Perlmutter and Ohio Republican Dave Joyce, co-sponsors of the legislation, said Friday their proposal would allow […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Cole County judge kept intact most of the ballot summary Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote for an initiative petition seeking to bar public funds from going to private schools. On Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem ruled that Ashcroft was correct to say in the summary that the […]
The Missouri Department of Agriculture is now accepting proposals for anticipated funding through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Interested individuals, community organizations, and research institutions working to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Missouri should submit their applications by March 8, 2022. “Specialty crop production plays a big role in Missouri agriculture and […]
Joining 23 state financial officers, Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick called on President Joe Biden to recall his nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin for Vice-Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve, a position with regulatory power over banks and the financial industry. In a letter to the President, the state financial officers expressed concerns about […]
The Board of Education of the Princeton R-V School District of Mercer County, Missouri approved a parameters resolution at a regular meeting on November 8, 2021, that authorized a final terms committee consisting of Rick Ellsworth, Board President, Jerry Girdner, Superintendent, and Larry J. Hart, CEO of L.J. Hart & Company. The resolution approved the […]
(Missouri Independent) – In a rare move, a Missouri commission granted a medical marijuana license to an applicant after discovering irregularities with how state regulators evaluated applications. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) decided to forgo appealing the ruling, announcing Tuesday that it had reached a settlement with the jilted applicant to […]
The Missouri Legislature is getting to work on Governor Parson’s 47-billion dollar state budget proposal for the next fiscal year. State Senator Lincoln Hough has a problem with an item in the fellow Republican’s wish list that would create a 250-million-dollar reserve of funding. Hough represents the Springfield area in southwest Missouri. Hough, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri state employees counting on seeing a big raise in their February paychecks may be disappointed, as lawmakers fiddle with a $5.4 billion spending bill pushed by Gov. Mike Parson. When the Republican governor in December proposed a 5.5 percent pay raise for all state workers, he said he wanted it in effect by […]
(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 state trooper who was shot last month in the line of duty was a special guest at this week’s State of the State Address. Governor Parson recognized Trooper Colton Beck, who was shot by a suspect during a routine traffic stop. Trooper Beck was hit by gunfire which struck him in the face, […]
The Trenton Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking proposals from qualified photographers to capture images for website use throughout the year. The organization is seeking a photographer who can take high-quality photographs of shops, restaurants, parks and recreation, landscape, and other photographs it requests throughout the year and upload the photos to a shared drive. […]
Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn announced that 16 youth groups from across Missouri were awarded grants from the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Building Our American Communities grant program. Eight local chapters of the National FFA Organization and eight Missouri 4-H clubs statewide have been awarded funds for their community service projects this year. “We […]
Governor Parson is requesting 250 million dollars to help provide safe drinking water and wastewater. He wants another 150 million to enhance stormwater systems. It’s part of his 47 billion dollar state operating budget for the next fiscal year. The proposal is now in the hands of the Missouri Legislature to decide if […]
