Medicaid Expansion in Missouri

Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]

Drug distributors Johnson and Johnson reach settlement in opioid case with state of Missouri

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today announced that his office has received a term sheet from Johnson and Johnson and multiple distributors (McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Cardinal Health), setting the stage for the largest victim-centric settlements the State of Missouri has ever seen and tentatively securing roughly just over half a billion dollars of funding […]

Seed Terminator Website

Mizzou weed science shares Seed Terminator research

In the 1984 film “The Terminator,” a robotic assassin played by Arnold Schwarzenegger warns, “I’ll be back.” If waterhemp could talk, it might say the same thing. Waterhemp can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. The prolific producer of seeds is the state’s No. 1 weed, robbing Missouri agriculture of millions of dollars […]

Map of The Border Wall in Arizona & New Mexico July 2021

Group says border wall map reveals damage to landscape and migration routes

A newly-released map identifies portions of the U.S.-Mexico border wall built by the Trump administration, and for conservation groups and wildlife advocates, it is alarming. The Biden administration halted construction and said it will use federal funds to assess the damage caused by the new, higher walls. Myles Traphagen, borderlands program coordinator for the Wildlands Network who created […]

Linn County Prosecuting Attorney Shiante McMahon speaks during an April 23 mock trial of the Big Bad Wolf put on for students in local schools. (Photo courtesy Linn County Prosecuting Attorney's Office via Facebook)

Linn County roiled by prosecutor’s charge of racism, sexism in Marceline Police Department

(Missouri Independent) – When Linn County Prosecuting Attorney Shiante McMahon saw a photo of one of her campaign shirts defaced with obscene, racist, and sexist writing — and learned it had been on display in the headquarters of the Marceline Police Department — she decided a complaint with the city wouldn’t do any good. So she posted the photo […]

Broadband Internet Access graphic

Audio: Missouri county considering whether to use federal aid to boost broadband access

The U.S. Department of Economic Development estimates that more than 400,000 Missourians do not have reliable internet access. The American Rescue Plan passed by Congress earlier this year includes giving 16.9-million dollars to Buchanan County in northwest Missouri. Presiding Commissioner Lee Sawyer says at the forefront of his and his commissioner’s minds are using the […]

Sales Tax

Trenton city sales tax revenue increases more than 6%

Trenton’s city sales tax revenue is up more than six percent when comparing the first quarter of this fiscal year to the same period a year ago. Involved are receipts from May through July. In dollar figures, the increases are general purposes at nearly $13,000, capital projects more than $6,400, parks more than $6,200, transportation […]

Jobs Report

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 […]

Bull Elk

Missouri Department of Conservation announces five hunters drawn for 2021 elk permits

The Missouri Department of Conservation congratulates the five Missourians drawn for the state’s 2021 elk hunting season this coming fall and winter. MDC will issue one permit each to the five lucky Missourians randomly drawn from 9,714 permit applications, including one drawn from 84 resident-landowners who applied and 9,630 from other Missourians. The five applicants […]