Duck and Waterfowl

Missouri Department of Conservation to offer free virtual waterfowl hunting workshop

Missouri has numerous public waterfowl hunting opportunities at wetlands and lakes, including those on conservation areas. The Missouri Department of Conservation will offer a free virtual waterfowl hunting class from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. This class will teach the equipment and strategies needed to be successful hunting ducks and geese.  […]

Photo of turkeys courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

Apply online during February for Missouri Department of Conservation spring managed turkey hunts

Missouri turkey hunters can apply online during February for 2022 spring turkey-managed hunts through the Missouri Department of Conservation website.  Managed hunt details and application procedures are outlined on the webpage. Drawing results will be posted starting March 15. The spring turkey hunting youth portion will be April 9 and 10 with the regular spring […]

Farm in Winter

Agriculture secretary pressed about pandemic relief funds for farmers

(Missouri Independent) – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack faced questions on how his agency is doling out emergency pandemic aid and fostering collaboration with historically Black colleges during a Thursday hearing before the House Agriculture Committee. Committee Chairman David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, asked Vilsack for “critical updates on the implementation of pandemic relief programs, including […]

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 […]

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 […]

Newtown-Harris School Website

Newtown-Harris Board of Education approves changes to COVID-19 policy at Monday meeting

The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education approved changes to the COVID-19 policy on December 13th. The changes specifically involved shorter quarantine periods. The board also reapproved the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan. The 2020-2021 audit was approved. Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis reports there were no findings or recommendations, and the […]

Antlerless Dear in field or does

Missouri Department of Conservation reports 14,896 deer harvested during antlerless portion

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 14,896 deer during the antlerless portion of the firearms deer season, Dec. 4-12. Top harvest counties were Callaway with 467 deer harvested, Pike with 376, and Morgan with 354. During the 2020 antlerless portion, the harvest total was 15,620.  Harvest […]

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (Photo Courtesy Missouri AG Office)

Missouri’s largest counties seek to appeal ruling overturning local health orders

(Missouri Independent) – Jackson and St. Louis Counties requested Monday that they be permitted to intervene and appeal a recent court ruling that they argue has “upended the longstanding public health framework” in Missouri. In a filing submitted Monday afternoon and obtained by The Independent, the two counties asked Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel […]

Deer and Turkey together

Missouri Department of Conservation sets deer and turkey hunting dates for upcoming seasons in 2022

At its December 10 open meeting in Jefferson City, the Missouri Conservation Commission approved the following recommendations by the Missouri Department of Conservation for upcoming turkey-hunting and deer-hunting season dates. 2022 SPRING AND FALL TURKEY HUNTING DATES Spring Youth Portion: April 9 and 10 Regular Spring Turkey Season: April 18 through May 8 Fall Firearms […]

Dairy Cows

USDA opens 2022 signup for Dairy Margin Coverage program, expands program for supplemental production

As part of the ongoing efforts to support dairy farmers and rural communities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture opened signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage program and expanded the program to allow dairy producers to better protect their operations by enrolling in supplemental production. This signup period – which runs from Dec. 13, 2021, to […]

Missouri Attorney General Seal and Gavel

Missouri AG issues letters to health authorities and school districts following recent Cole County ruling relating to health orders

Following the Cole County Circuit Court’s decision in Robinson v. Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt this morning sent a letter to local public health agencies and school districts informing them of the decision and requiring them to stop enforcing any mask mandates, quarantine orders, or any other public […]

Orscheln Headquarters Moberly (Photo by Rudi Keller - Missouri Independent)

Controversial bill would have aided Orscheln Products LLC, under scrutiny for contamination

(Missouri Independent) – Two years ago, a company led by an influential Republican businessman faced off with the state’s environmental regulators over whether it needed to do additional testing for a chemical that health officials worried could pose a cancer risk to the company’s workers.  The Moberly manufacturing facility, Orscheln Products LLC, is owned by […]