The Laredo R-7 Board of Education accepted several bids on June 7. They were for propane from Ferrellgas for $1.31 per gallon, fuel from Landes for five cents off, trash from WCA for $84.66, and milk from Prairie Farms. Administrator Misty Foster reports school breakfast and lunch will be free for students next school year. […]
4-H clubs across Missouri have raised more than three-quarters of a million meals to feed hungry families over the last three years. The third annual 4-H Feeding Missouri food drive, in partnership with Missouri Farmers Care Drive to Feed Kids, ran from Jan. 1 through April 30. Even though COVID-19 limited in-person drives, fundraising, volunteer […]
A couple was sentenced to prison for their participation in a scheme to file four fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.1 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Latoya Stanley, 38, […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency published the first notice of funding availability announcing loan payments for eligible borrowers with qualifying direct farm loans under the American Rescue Plan Act Section 1005. The official NOFA will be published in the Federal Register early next week and USDA expects payments to begin in early […]
The North Central Missouri Board of Trustees received a consolidated budget update on May 25, 2021. The 2021-2022 budget projection includes total operating revenue of $11,111,547. With auxiliary operations of $12,151,045, the total consolidated income is projected at $13,262,592. Revenues include $7,433,078 for tuition and fees and $2,939,169 in state appropriations. The budget projection also […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missourians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018. But under federal law, growing, transporting, or selling marijuana remains a crime. Unsurprisingly, that dynamic has created a lot of headaches for the fledgling industry. One notable example: Unlike every other legal business in the state, marijuana companies are prohibited from deducting business expenses […]
In response to catastrophic aquaculture losses due to major winter storms that hit states along the U.S. Gulf Coast in February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced a policy change that makes food fish, and other aquatic species eligible for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised […]
(Missouri Independent) – At least once a day, housing advocate Melissa Pashia speaks to someone living in a car. Once the situation gets to this point, it’s hard to get people back into stable housing, said Pashia, a housing resource specialist for the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council. “Landlords don’t want to […]
The state Legislature did not end up passing a bill this session that would let about 46,000 Missourians keep extra unemployment relief the state mistakenly gave them. Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden of Columbia says a fix could be part of a special session. Early on, Governor Parson supported the idea of the […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and 43 of his Republican colleagues sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to stand with Israel. While Israel remains under attack from Iranian-backed terrorists, the Biden Administration is negotiating and potentially offering sanctions relief to Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Senators called on President Biden to immediately end negotiations […]
Hiland Dairy Foods, a Missouri-based producer and distributor of dairy products, violated federal law when it refused to hire a man to work in its Norman, Okla. plant because he was vision-impaired, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed. According to the suit, Hiland interviewed the man, toured the plant with […]
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education approved the 2021-2022 salary schedule May 10t. It is the same salary schedule as for the 2020-2021 school year, which Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis notes has a base salary of $31,000 for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree. The salary schedule is expected to change after further review […]
To address workforce shortages across the state, Governor Mike Parson directed the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to notify the U.S. Department of Labor that Missouri will end participation in all federal pandemic-related unemployment insurance programs effective Saturday, June 12 at 11:59 p.m. “From conversations with business owners across the state, we know […]
(Missouri Independent) – States, cities, and counties can begin to tap their share of the $350 billion in federal funds intended to spur a national recovery from the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, White House officials announced Monday. Missouri will receive $2.7 billion in federal funding, with another $2.5 billion in direct aid for counties […]
North Central Missouri College is providing up to three credit hours, tuition paid, for the first 200 new students enrolled in summer coursework for the summer 2021 semester. The promotion is available to new students only and does not include fees associated with the course or enrolling. Funds are from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II […]
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court to fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Brian Ruth, Sr., 44, of Deepwater, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to federal information […]
The Missouri Department of Agriculture has awarded $16,716,406 million in CARES Act funding to nearly 150 small and medium-sized businesses. As a direct result of the reimbursement grant, more than 40 businesses were assisted in initiating or expanding their level of meat processing through a new grant of inspection or custom exempt inspection status. “As a […]
A draft 2022-2026 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program that focuses on taking care of the state’s existing transportation system was presented today to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. A 30-day public review and comment period began on Wednesday, May 5) Missouri Department of Transportation Planning Director Eric Curtit told commissioners the draft STIP includes 1,417 […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers must finish work on the fiscal 2022 budget by Friday. And while the biggest spending issue of the session, Medicaid expansion, is off the table, there are other big issues to resolve in the state-run health care program. One of the largest is whether to provide a cushion for hospitals that […]
Trenton R-9 Superintendent Mike Stegman says COVID-19 has made the 2020-2021 school year unique. It came after the district closed its school buildings in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Stegman explains the administration tried to protect students and staff from something it did not know a lot about. Many decisions were made […]
