North Central Missouri College Website V2 (NCMC)

Audio: North Central Missouri College Scholarship Reception, held on Wednesday evening, featured speakers from staff and students

North Central Missouri College employees spoke at the scholarship reception on the campus in Trenton February 16th. Student Support Services Assistant Director Tocarra Williams talked about intangible things that scare us, like being the first person in a family to attend college. Williams, herself, was a first generation college student, and she attended NCMC. Student […]

Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Missouri Supreme Court: Medical marijuana application info must be disclosed in appeals

(Missouri Independent) – In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a lower court was justified in ordering the state health department to disclose medical marijuana application info that it had argued was confidential. The Department of Health and Senior Services refused to provide applications of businesses that were awarded licenses to […]

Bankruptcy news graphic

Bankruptcy of failed Moberly factory project nears end after 10 years in court

(Missouri Independent) – Unsecured creditors will get less than a nickel on the dollar for debts left by a Moberly economic development project that went bust in 2011 as Missouri lawmakers worked on a plan to finance air freight shipments from China. A final report pending before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Dow describes how $2.1 million […]

GRM Networks

Federal Communication Commission’s Affordable Internet Connectivity Program provides assistance to qualifying households

GRM Networks is promoting consumer awareness about the Affordable Connectivity Program, a new program from the Federal Communications Commission. This benefit will help lower the cost of broadband Internet service for eligible households. The $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of $30 per month toward broadband Internet service for eligible households. A household […]

Medical Marijuana

Reversing state’s decision, Missouri panel awards marijuana license to jilted applicant

(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 […]

Spickard School

Spickard Board of Education approves changes to COVID-19 Contingency Plan

The Spickard R-2 Board of Education approved changes to the COVID-19 Contingency Plan on January 17th. Regarding a COVID-19 positive or household COVID-19 positive case, the contingency plan says students and staff should refrain from attending school for five days. If they are symptomatic, the positive case time frame may be extended five more days […]

A partially melted tire hangs on a tree near Paradise, Kansas. The surrounding land was scorched by a wildfire in December 2021

December 2021 was the warmest on record in Missouri and Kansas – by a long shot

(Missouri Independent) – Kansas and Missouri logged their warmest average December temperatures on record last month, according to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Average temperatures over the last half of 2021 were higher than they’ve ever been in either state — and across the country. Meanwhile, despite a devastating cold snap that forced […]

Jobs Report

Missouri monthly job report shows unemployment rate at 3.5 percent

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from October 2021 to November 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,600 jobs over the month, with job gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in November […]

University Of Missouri

University of Missouri President Choi won’t ask curators to reconsider vote against mask rule

(Missouri Independent) – The University of Missouri’s Columbia campus will begin the spring semester as planned Tuesday with no option for online classes, masking, or vaccination requirements, UM System President and campus Chancellor Mun Choi wrote to faculty leaders Friday. Choi’s response to concerns raised in a letter from the Executive Committee of the campus […]

Prison Sentence News Graphic

Missouri man sentenced to 25 years in federal prison without parole for illegal firearms and drug trafficking

A Missouri, man who faces murder charges in state court was sentenced in federal court on multiple charges of illegally possessing firearms, including stolen firearms, and drug trafficking. Brandon L. Hill, 33, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 25 years in federal prison without parole. On April 29, 2021, Hill […]

Cliff Wilson Photo

Cliff Wilson accepts position with Missouri Department of Conservation

The Missouri Department of Conservation Northwest Region is pleased to announce that Cliff Wilson has accepted the Community and Private Land Conservationist position formally held by Scott Roy. Cliff will be stationed at the Grundy County USDA office in Trenton and will be serving landowners and constituents in Mercer, Grundy, and Livingston counties. Prior to […]

Scott Fitzpatrick

Missouri schools must comply with COVID ruling to win treasurer approval of bond deals

(Missouri Independent) – If school districts want to take advantage of a lower interest rate on bonds, Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is requiring them to certify compliance with a recent court ruling targeting local health orders before his office will approve of the deal. Fitzpatrick detailed the decision he described as “unprecedented” in an interview Wednesday […]

Meth with police banner

Aryan Brotherhood member pleads guilty in Missouri to meth trafficking

A Missouri, man who belongs to the Aryan Brotherhood pleaded guilty in federal court to methamphetamine trafficking. Jimmy Jack Pinkley, 44, of Billings, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. By pleading guilty Pinkley admitted that he was in possession of […]

Severe Weather

Audio: Grundy County Emergency Manager reviews weather and weather damage on December 15

Grundy County Emergency Management Director Glen Briggs calls December 15, 2021, a historic day in Northern Missouri, with its high winds and temperatures. When it came to Grundy County, overall, Briggs said it “fared relatively well.”     The business building at 12th and Main streets was vacant and the flag pole on top of […]

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 […]

Jobs Report or unemployment

Missouri’s unemployment rate drops two-tenths of a percentage point in November to 3.5%

Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from October 2021 to November 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 7,600 jobs over the month, with job gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in November […]