The Opening Night Celebration of Festival of Lights has been rescheduled for Wednesday, November 25th, 2020. The event was postponed on Saturday due to rain. Everyone is encouraged to come and walk through the park to see the new features and all of their favorites. Due to concerns about COVID-19, there will not be sleigh […]
Tag: rain
MoDOT planned road work in Northern Missouri for the week of November 23, 2020
The following is a list of general highway maintenance and construction work the Missouri Department of Transportation has planned in Northern Missouri for the week of November 23 – 29. MoDOT will halt most temporary lane closures throughout the state at noon on Wednesday, November 25 at 5 p.m., to accommodate an increase in traffic […]
Poinsettia: America’s most popular flower
Poinsettia is our nation’s most popular potted flowering plant. What makes this remarkable is that most poinsettias are sold between the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Despite its short sales period, poinsettia contributed $170 million to the U.S. economy last year, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. Native to southern Mexico and […]
Drought conditions remain unchanged in Northern Missouri
Even for those areas that received a bit of rain last week, the latest information shows drought conditions in northern Missouri are unchanged from the previous week. The drought monitor index map was released Thursday and based on conditions as of Tuesday. All or parts of 11 northern Missouri counties continue with moderate (D-1) drought. […]
EPA awards $2.5 million to the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs for farmworker pesticide training
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs to receive up to $500,000 annually to conduct pesticide safety training across the country over the next five years. With EPA funding, AFOP will administer this grant to provide occupational health and safety training to migrant and seasonal farmworkers in more than […]
Missouri Job Centers move to appointment only openings, require masks at all locations
The Missouri Office of Workforce Development has issued a new policy within all Job Centers across the state to help protect staff and customers from spreading COVID-19. Beginning Friday, Nov. 20, all Job Centers will be open for in-person services by appointment only. Staff have been wearing masks, but now customers will also be required […]
Missouri hunters take less deer on opening weekend than in 2019, weather a huge factor over the weekend
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 80,525 deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the fall firearms deer season. That’s eight thousand fewer deer than the corresponding first weekend of 2019 which came in at a total of 88,760. Of the deer harvested […]
Area churches to participate in Operation Christmas Child
Several area churches are scheduled to participate in Operation Christmas Child, a project of the international relief fund organization Samaritan’s Purse. The project involves shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items, school supplies, personal notes, and a photo can also be included. An area volunteer, David Hogan, noted items that should not be packed include […]
Patrol reports arrest of illegal alien on DWI accusation and Oklahoma woman on child endangerment
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports a Cameron resident was arrested early Sunday in Clinton County. 38-year old Raul Vega was accused of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, not having a valid operator’s license, and being an alien unlawfully present in the United States. Vega was taken to the Clinton County Jail. An Oklahoma City, Oklahoma […]
Police chokeholds, no-knock warrants spark debate in Missouri House committee
(Missouri Independent) – As state lawmakers mull the idea of restricting police use of chokeholds or no-knock warrants, they are facing pushback from law enforcement organizations who contend decisions should be made at the local level. The House Special Committee on Criminal Justice met for three hours on Monday to explore the possibility of passing […]
Video: ‘The virus is winning’: Health officials call for statewide mask mandate in Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson needs to issue a statewide mask mandate and “safer-at-home” policy to prevent the state’s health system from becoming overwhelmed, Dr. Alex Garza, the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said Friday. “Unfortunately, as has been painfully obvious to even a casual observer, we are […]
MoDOT planned road work in Northern Missouri for the week of November 16, 2020
The following is a list of general highway maintenance and construction work the Missouri Department of Transportation has planned in Northern Missouri for the week of November 16 – 22. All road closures and planned roadwork may be viewed on the Traveler Information Map at http://traveler.modot.org/map/. Inclement weather may cause schedule changes in some of […]
Missouri receives national “Innovation In State Government” award for professional development
The National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) awarded one of four 2020 Innovations in State Government Awards to Missouri, the state’s first time receiving the award. Missouri was recognized for its distinctiveness and innovation in the “Personnel Best Practices” category for its professional development transformation. Criteria included program innovation, transferability to other state governments, […]
Missouri schools allowed to relax COVID-19 quarantine rules if both people properly wearing masks
Governor Mike Parson and state education director Margie Vandeven have loosened the guidelines for making students and staff quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19 if both people were properly wearing masks. Vandeven explained at a press conference Thursday: “Under the updated guidance, proper mask-wearing may now prevent individuals from being identified as close contacts in […]
North Central Missouri College looks into expanding services to Savannah, Missouri
North Central Missouri College is working to acquire a property in Savannah, possibly before the end of the year. A Savannah location would enable the college to eventually consolidate programs and services currently offered at several leased locations in Northwest Missouri. The college hopes to offer short-term workforce training at the site as early as […]
Rain earlier this week not enough to relieve drought conditions in northern Missouri
Northern Missouri is currently experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions. The United States Drought Monitor map of Missouri released November 12th shows abnormally dry conditions in all of the Green Hills. Moderate drought was reported for portions of Adair, Macon, Chariton, Knox, Shelby, and Scotland counties. Moderate drought was also shown for all of […]
University of Missouri Extension to host free farm tax workshops
The University of Missouri Extension will hold free farm tax workshops online and in person. Extension specialists and tax experts will give updates on 2020 and 2021 taxes for farmers and ranchers Tuesday evening November 17th and December 1st from 6:15 to 8:30. On-site locations for November 17th include the Forage Systems Research Center of […]
Missouri House gives initial approval to $1.2 billion supplemental budget
The Missouri House voted Tuesday to give preliminary approval to a proposed $1.27 billion supplemental budget, a supplemental that is the reason for the special session. The supplemental budget includes funding for school nutrition programs, job training grants, $1 million for witness protection funding, and money for child support payments. Governor Mike Parson (R) called […]
Missouri education official calls substitute teacher shortage a crisis
Missouri schools continue to struggle with having enough teachers available to educate kids in traditional classrooms this year. The Show-Me State has had a chronic problem with teacher shortages, but COVID-19 has made the can of worms open even more. Missouri has about 70,000 pre-K through 12 teachers instructing roughly 900,000 public school students. Many […]