As the Biden administration and Congress continue to wrangle over the size and scope of a federal infrastructure package, a new report showed how investing $274 billion to electrify the nation’s transportation system, including electric school busses, 18-wheelers, charging stations, and more would yield a five-fold return for the overall economy. Sam Shriver, strategy and content […]
Tag: rates
Missouri Department of Conservation on Missouri’s wild turkey population
Interested in learning more about Missouri’s wild turkey population? Curious how fall harvest is affecting turkeys? The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Wild Turkey Biologist Reina Tyl is myth-busting and shedding light on wild turkey population trends for hunters, landowners, and managers. WHY AM I SEEING FEWER TURKEYS ON THE LANDSCAPE? “The number of turkeys we […]
Missouri prison healthcare contract won by a company accused of bid-rigging in Tennessee
(Missouri Independent) – The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat […]
Video: Biden signs law making Juneteenth a federal holiday. State offices will close in Missouri
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law legislation declaring a legal public holiday annually on June 19, the date of the end of slavery in the U.S. known as Juneteenth. “Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names—Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the […]
Juneteenth is Official: Missouri’s Governor signs order closing state offices for Juneteenth
Missouri’s governor has signed an order that closes state offices today (Friday) in recognition of a new federal statute establishing Juneteenth as a government holiday. The holiday has delayed the Missouri Medicaid lawsuit hearing in Cole County Circuit Court, which was originally set for today. It’s now been rescheduled for Monday afternoon. Juneteenth […]
Feds pony up to get more SNAP-eligible families enrolled
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a 50/50 match on Nebraska dollars invested in outreach to get more eligible families enrolled in SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. Ellen Vollinger, legal director at the Food Research and Action Center, said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps struggling families put food on the […]
Missouri Attorney General files suit against Hickory County dog breeder
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today filed suit against Laurie Lund of Cridder Creek Kennel for multiple violations of the Animal Care Facilities Act and for operating without a license since January 2021. “The vast majority of Missouri’s commercial breeders comply with the Animal Care Facilities Act, however, when my Office finds repeat violations of […]
USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program general and grasslands signups
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set a July 23, 2021, deadline for agricultural producers and landowners to apply for the Conservation Reserve Program General signup 56. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications for CRP Grasslands from July 12 to August 20. This year, USDA updated both signup options to provide greater […]
Report urges strong eviction moratoriums, robust rental aid
A new study of eviction filings in St. Louis during the pandemic found people within protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, communities of color, women-led households, and families with children are impacted at higher rates than others. The Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council’s report noted even though moratoriums have kept many people unable to […]
University of Missouri report looks at population trends in Missouri
Missouri’s population grew by about 11,000 people from 2019 to 2020. This 0.2% increase is only half the national rate of 0.4%, though it is typical of the modest growth experienced by many other Midwestern states. But the picture gets more complicated when you zoom in to specific regions and counties. “This growth is uneven,” […]
Filibusted: Experts say the time has come to end Senate practice
(Missouri Independent) – Even the stuffy, florid name of the procedure, “filibuster” sounds like something conceived around a table of wig-wearing Founding Fathers. While the name has its roots in the 18th Century (with pirates nonetheless), the concept and practice in the United States Senate is much younger, not being implemented in a modern form until […]
Missouri, Kansas utilities may use loophole to charge customers for fossil fuel lobbying
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri and Kansas residents’ utility bills may be helping to bankroll the energy sector lobbying against policies aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Federal and state rules prohibit utility companies from passing their lobbying costs on to customers through bills. But in both Kansas and Missouri, utilities like Evergy, Ameren, and Spire […]
COVID-19 vaccination rates in north Missouri lag behind state and national average
Completion rates COVID-19 vaccinations, when including total populations, include the united states at 41.6 percent, Missouri is several points behind at 35.2 percent. In this area, Carroll County at 31.3 percent of its residents fully vaccinated, then Livingston 29.9, Linn 29.6, Sullivan 26.8, Caldwell 24.2, Grundy County in sixth place among ten area counties. Grundy […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture announces 2021 Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
The Missouri Department of Agriculture announced that the Missouri Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is up and running for the summer. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services, the SFMNP assists low-income seniors in obtaining fresh, Missouri Grown produce and generates more than $200,000 for the farmers’ market community. Through the […]
Despite high voter turnout, women hold only 30% of political offices
Women account for a majority of the U.S. population, but a new report shows they make up less than one-third of high-level government leadership at the local, state, and national levels. A first-of-its-kind study by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University found women hold just over 30% of positions in mayoral […]
COVID-19 surge in north Missouri creates worries for summer as vaccinations decline
(Missouri Independent) – In the last week of April, the Linn County Health Department signaled that the COVID-19 pandemic had cooled enough that it could discontinue weekly reports on new cases. With only three active cases on April 21, the urgency for frequent updates seemed to have passed. But the coronavirus came roaring back this […]
Carroll County Memorial Hospital expands Pain Management Clinic with addition of Dr. Bradford Noble
Carroll County Memorial Hospital has expanded its Outpatient Specialty Interventional Pain Management Clinic with the addition of Dr. Bradford R. Noble. Dr. Noble attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and Rehabilitation and completed his fellowship in pain management through the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. He completed a portion of his residency training through […]
County by county unemployment rates in north Missouri range from 1.9% to 5.9%
County by county unemployment rates in north Missouri range from a low of 1.9% in Gentry County to 5.9% in Linn County. Statewide, the unemployment rate is 4%. Area counties, besides Gentry, with jobless rates for April that are lower than the state average, are Worth at 2.1%; Mercer at 2.3%; Putnam at 2-1/2 %, […]
Gallatin Board of Aldermen approve setting electric rates
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen this week approved an ordinance and resolution regarding the setting of electric rates. City Clerk Hattie Rains reports the ordinance authorized the city, going forward, to use a resolution instead of an ordinance to set electric rates. The resolution changed the electric rates for citizens and businesses. The rates will […]