Representatives from Missouri State Parks invite the public to attend an informational meeting at Crowder State Park on Saturday, July 10. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Campground Amphitheater. The public is invited to share comments and ask questions about the park and its operations. Representatives from the park will be present […]
Tag: protect
‘A highway away’: Delta variant, low vaccine rates cause COVID spike across Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Kendra Findley had thought the Springfield area had seen the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in December — a month when cases regularly surpassed 200 a day and that saw a record 98 residents die of the virus. Looking back, that was when the Alpha variant, first identified in the U.K., was […]
Missouri Senate approves FRA, rejects push to ban Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan coalition handed anti-abortion activists a rare defeat in the Missouri Senate Friday night, rejecting a push to ban Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider as it passed a bill to secure billions for the state’s Medicaid program. And only a restatement of the state’s already existing ban on using public funds to […]
Audio: Missouri State Highway Patrol recommends caution this weekend for drivers and boaters.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol wants to remind Missourians that thunderstorms are expected to continue over the next several days, which may lead to flooding in certain areas. Flooding, especially flash flooding, is dangerous and can be fatal. Drivers and boaters are encouraged to make smart decisions. Drivers Drivers are urged to avoid […]
Biden-Harris administration extends moratorium of residential evictions in USDA multifamily housing communities
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended through July 31, 2021, the moratorium on evictions of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in multifamily housing communities supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The United States is recovering from a nationwide housing affordability crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s […]
Coalition of lawmakers sound alarm on Biden administration’s plan to redefine “Waters of the United States” or WOTUS
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, joined Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Congressman David Rouzer (R-NC) and other top Republican leaders in outlining their concerns regarding the Biden administration’s intention to undo the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. The Biden administration’s recent announcement signaled its intent […]
Missouri Attorney General obtains $150,000 Medicaid fraud settlement
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has obtained a $150,000 settlement against a former Poplar Bluff Medicaid provider for falsely billing services that weren’t provided. “My Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works tirelessly to root out, investigate, and prosecute instances of Medicaid fraud across the state of Missouri,” […]
Senator Hawley introduces legislative agenda to hire 100,000 new police officers
Ahead of President Biden’s Wednesday address on the spiking crime throughout America, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) rolled out his own legislative agenda to hire 100,000 new police officers, boost police morale, and keep American families safe. As violent crime continues to plague the country, communities and law enforcement officers are under siege. Homicides are dramatically increasing across American cities, and violent […]
Some of Missouri’s largest CAFOs are seeking less stringent state regulation
Eleven of Missouri’s largest concentrated animal feeding operations are working to reduce the state’s oversight of their hog facilities despite a record of manure spills and clean water violations. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, has 11 CAFOs seeking new state permits. The facilities, dotted across northern Missouri, combined are capable of raising more […]
Macon man charged with 118 counts of child sex crimes pleads “Not Guilty”
A Macon man pleaded not guilty in Linn County on June 23 to 118 felony counts, including multiple counts of child molestation, statutory sodomy, and statutory rape. The court denied a bond request for 54-year-old Kenneth Harper. A bond hearing is scheduled for July 1st. The alleged incidents happened from 1996 to 2010. The court […]
Macon man charged in Linn County with 118 counts of child molestation, sodomy and rape
A Macon man has been charged in Linn County with 118 felony counts related to child sex crimes. Fifty-four-year-old Kenneth Harper’s charges include multiple counts of child molestation, statutory sodomy, and statutory rape, stemming from 1996 to 2010. An arraignment is scheduled for June 23rd. The court ordered that the probable cause statement be kept […]
State Auditor’s Office notifies local government entities that recent court ruling will impact allowable local tax rates
The State Auditor’s Office is notifying more than 2,800 local taxing authorities in Missouri that they no longer have the option to calculate local tax rates using a subsection of state law a recent court ruling found to be unconstitutional. The taxing authorities include local government entities such as counties, municipalities, and school and fire […]
Governor Parson signs four Bills into law today
Missouri’s Governor has signed a bill that could allow robots to deliver goods to your doorstep in Missouri. Another bill he signed will allow Missouri pharmacists to dispense HIV post-exposure drugs without a prescription. Parson has also signed legislation that allows car dealers to boost vehicle prices by as much as 300-dollars to pay for […]
Lawmakers pen letter to ATF in defense of Americans’ Second Amendment rights
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sent a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives expressing concern over two of their newly-proposed gun rules that could threaten Americans’ Second Amendment rights. The rules, 2021R-05 and 2021R-08, would require the retention of firearms transaction records forever, paving the way to […]
Two injured in crash east of Princeton on Highway 136
Two people from Carthage, Illinois, were injured on Sunday at 5 pm, one of them seriously, in a single-vehicle accident about two miles east of Princeton. A westbound sports utility vehicle dropped off the north shoulder of Highway 136 overcorrected, causing the vehicle to cross the road and go off the south side, where it […]
Audio: Missouri leaders respond to Department of Justice’s warning about state’s new gun law
Missouri has responded to the U.S. Justice Department’s warning about a new gun bill signed into state law. The US Justice Department says Missouri cannot ignore federal law after Governor Parson signed a bill last weekend that bans police from enforcing federal gun regulations. Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton says the law […]
Missouri State Auditor issues report on Missouri’s use of federal stimulus dollars received through CARES Act funding
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released her 12th monthly report detailing the state government’s use of federal stimulus dollars intended for the COVID-19 response. Last year, Auditor Galloway announced that her office would examine the state’s distribution and spending of funding received under the CARES Act and other federal assistance programs passed by Congress. The most […]
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services urge continued vaccination as close monitoring of Delta variant continues
Missouri is experiencing a rise in individuals contracting the Delta variant (B.1.617.2, first detected in India) of the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. It was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday that the Delta variant has been reclassified as a “variant of concern” in the United States. The Missouri Department of […]