(Missouri Independent) – Legislative leaders of both parties said Tuesday that a special session is likely not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis and […]
Tag: restrictions
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
Fight over mask orders growing at rate to rival Missouri Delta variant cases
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]
Missouri Attorney General files suit to stop mask mandates in St. Louis City and St. Louis County
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit to stop the reimposition of a mask mandate in St. Louis County and St. Louis City. The suit, which was filed in circuit court in St. Louis County, names St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, and the respective directors of the county and […]
Audio: Events at Missouri State Fair planned around bicentennial celebration with $9 million in renovations
The theme for this year’s Missouri State Fair is “Our Missouri Celebration.” State Fair Director Mark Wolfe says the theme is tied to the state’s bicentennial celebration, which is what the events at the fair are planned around. August 10 is the actual 200th anniversary of Missouri entering the United States. Missouri State Fair Director […]
Audio: Parson responds to Chicago travel restrictions on Missouri; says Missouri is not in COVID-19 crisis mode
Chicago has reinstated its COVID-19 travel order for Missouri. The windy city is requiring any unvaccinated people traveling from Missouri to get a negative coronavirus test result no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in Chicago or quarantine for a 10-day period upon arrival. During an event Tuesday in Jefferson City, Governor Parson weighed […]
Tax relief for Missouri medical marijuana businesses vetoed by Governor Parson
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson vetoed legislation Friday that would have lifted a prohibition on licensed medical marijuana companies deducting business expenses on their taxes. In his letter vetoing the measure, Parson didn’t mention the medical marijuana provisions. He said his decision to reject the bill came down to a section lawmakers included that […]
Coalition of Attorneys General files suit against Google for alleged anti-competitive actions in relation to app store
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Google for alleged unlawful antitrust actions. The suit, filed on Thursday, alleges exclusionary conduct relating to the Google Play Store for Android mobile devices and Google Billing. The coalition of attorneys general accuses Google of using its dominance […]
Jobs report for May 2021 shows slight increase in Missouri unemployment numbers
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from April 2021 to May 2021, but the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 6,000 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May […]
Missouri Attorney General asks U.S. Supreme Court to review state’s eight-week abortion ban
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a petition for writ of certiorari in Schmitt v. Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, asking the Supreme Court of the United States to review Missouri’s law prohibiting abortions of unborn children with Down syndrome. “My son Stephen has shown me the inherent beauty […]
Infrastructure, events, budgets and purchases among agenda items tackled at meeting of NCMC Board of Trustees
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees on June 22nd heard about upcoming events involving academic affairs. Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre said a dual credit and adjunct workshop on June 23rd will provide professional development for returning faculty and orientation for new instructors. He noted the college hopes to gather […]
Governor Parson offers up detailed list of funding on the chopping block if FRA stalemate is not resolved
During a press conference at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson warned of the detrimental consequences to Missourians if the Federal Reimbursement Allowances (FRA) and related programs were not extended. The FRA and related programs provide critical funding to MO HealthNet and must be extended before cost-savings measures are needed on July 1. “If political […]
Parson gives Missouri Legislature deadline of high noon Tuesday to reach deal on healthcare tax proposal
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson gave lawmakers a deadline of noon Tuesday to strike a deal to renew medical provider taxes vital to funding Medicaid or accept responsibility for more than $700 million in cuts from the state budget that takes effect July 1. If not, the governor says he will freeze funding in Missouri’s […]
May jobs report shows Missouri unemployment rate at 4.2%
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased from April 2021 to May 2021, but the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 6,000 jobs over the month, with job gains in both goods-producing and service-providing industries. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May […]
Missouri Attorney General opposes reinstatement of overreaching WOTUS rule in Letter to EPA and Army Corps of Engineers
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, opposing their recent move to reconsider the more limited Navigable Waters Protection Rule, a President Trump-era rule that reversed the 2015 Obama-era Waters of the United States rule. EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the […]
Audio: Parson to sign into law restrictions on Missouri’s local health departments
Governor Parson plans to sign into law tomorrow restrictions on Missouri’s local health departments. The legislation bans county health departments from issuing public health orders during a state-declared emergency. It limits them to ordering the closure of businesses, schools, churches, and gatherings for up to thirty days. After that time, closures will be […]
As massive livestock operations move in, fighting them gets harder for rural neighbors
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]