Bipartisan law enforcement legislation that bans most police chokeholds and eliminates residency requirements for Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers is now heading to the Missouri governor’s desk after receiving final House approval Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City. Senate Bill 53 is sponsored by State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) and State Rep. Lane Roberts (R-Joplin). Representative Roberts […]
Tag: shortage
Nurses share lessons from pandemic on International Nurses Day
This International Nurses Day, nurses in Missouri are raising concerns about the long-term mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as urging the healthcare industry to prepare for future health crises. Heidi Lucas, state director of the Missouri Nurses Association, said nurses worry about possible future spikes. While more people are getting the vaccine, […]
Audio: Missouri designates $50 million in federal aid to help reduce its K-12 teacher shortage
Missouri is designating 50-million dollars in federal coronavirus aid to create K-12 teacher recruitment and retention grants. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will make 10,000-dollar grants available to all Missouri public school districts and charter schools to create or expand local teacher recruitment programs. Currently, 20 percent of Missouri school […]
Governor Parson announces Missouri to end all pandemic-related unemployment benefits
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 […]
City of Trenton to save over $650,000 by refinancing long term debt
The city of Trenton and its municipal utility expect to save money on interest costs with the re-financing of three long-term debts. It was announced the savings amounts to $658,000 over the length of the loans. Two involve 2012 issued bonds and the 2014 issued bonds for Trenton Municipal Utilities projects done at the water […]
University of Missouri Extension releases 2021 mental health toolkit
The University of Missouri Extension and Show-Me Farm Safety recently released a new Together We Can toolkit to help rural Missourians access mental health resources. “Missourians are strong and resilient in the face of the challenges and uncertainty that can come with farm life,” says Marshall Stewart, MU vice chancellor for extension and engagement and […]
Audio: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Looks to reduce teacher shortage
Missouri is facing a teacher shortage, and for Teacher Appreciation Week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working to inspire more high school and college students to consider becoming educators. Halley Russell a government teacher at Jackson High School, said the shortage is nothing new but is getting more attention with the […]
Audio: Missouri’s trucking industry is struggling to keep up with demand during the pandemic
Missouri’s trucking industry is struggling to keep up with demand during the pandemic. Ann Bauza, with MTC Truck Driver Training, says the industry continues to deal with a truck driver shortage. Bauza tells KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau that trucking companies are finding ways to recruit new drivers, including pay increases and bigger bonuses. […]
Missouri lawmakers urged to learn from states that have expanded Medicaid
As the state Senate debates Missouri’s budget for next year, groups are urging lawmakers to learn from the 38 states that have expanded their Medicaid programs. The budget passed by the Missouri House leaves out the $130 million needed to fund expansion. The remainder of the costs would be covered by the federal government. Joan Alker, executive director […]
Audio: Missouri Board of Education unanimously approves permanently allowing accelerated substitute teacher training
The state Board of Education has signed off on permanently allowing an accelerated substitute teacher training option. Aspiring substitutes will be able to fulfill the standard 60 college credit hours or they can complete an online training program of at least 20 hours. Last fall, the board temporarily allowed the online course to help close […]
Health insurance plans approved by Trenton Board of Education during meeting on April 13
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education heard several reports on April 13, 2021. One report was on the At-Risk Evaluation. Trenton High School Assistant Principal John Cowling said the Trenton High School/Trenton Middle School Academic Lab has served 40 high school students and eight middle school students this academic year. Four of the high school […]
Audio: Northern Missouri lawmaker warns about shortage of gas stations near Missouri-Iowa border; says It’s a safety issue
A state lawmaker who represents four northern Missouri counties is warning about the lack of gas stations near the Missouri-Iowa border. Newtown State Representative Danny Busick, the Missouri House Special Committee on Small Business vice chair, says regulations make it difficult to operate small gas stations. But Busick tells our Moberly affiliate KWIX […]
Holding Medicaid hostage over birth control defies law and reason
(Missouri Independent) – While playing politics with healthcare in Missouri is certainly nothing new, holding Missouri Medicaid hostage over basic birth control is a stunning — and consequential — shift. As captured in headlines across the state, state Sen. Paul Wieland has put the entire Missouri Medicaid program in jeopardy with his late-night amendment to a […]
Audio: Missouri Representative wants to lower requirements to become a K-12 substitute teacher
Missouri could lower the requirements to become a K-12 substitute teacher. To help alleviate a substitute shortage, State Representative Ed Lewis is proposing to reduce the required college credit hours from 60 to 36. Lewis, of northern Missouri’s Moberly, has been a teacher for more than 30 years. During a House education committee hearing on […]
Groundbreaking ceremony set for Caldwell County’s Little Otter Creek Reservoir March 19, 2021
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Missouri, Caldwell County Commission, USACE, and Caldwell County SWCD will host a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the beginning of construction on the Little Otter Creek Reservoir on March 19th, 2021. After over two decades of planning, design, reviews, and permitting, the Little Otter Creek Reservoir will begin […]
Audio: Due to staffing shortages, two Missouri prisons temporarily transfer workers and inmates
To help deal with staffing shortages, workers and prisoners at two Missouri prisons have been temporarily relocated to nearby prisons. State Department of Corrections Spokeswoman Karen Pojmann tells Missourinet workers and inmates at a Fulton prison in mid-Missouri have been moved to the minimum-security prison in town. Staff and offenders at Kansas City […]
Three Missouri universities earn nursing grant awards
The Missouri State Board of Nursing recently announced the award of substantial nursing education program grants to three Missouri universities. The Nursing Education Incentive Program (NEIP) grants were established in 2011 in order to increase the physical and educational capacity of professional nursing programs in Missouri. The funding, through legislative appropriations, comes from the Missouri […]
Jay Nixon comeback? Democrats lining up for shot at open Missouri Senate seat
(Missouri Independent) – Roy Blunt’s announcement that he won’t seek a third term certainly shook up Republican politics in Missouri, sparking nearly every GOP elected official in the state to publicly mull jumping into the campaign. Democrats aren’t immune from the speculation. While any Democrat would face an uphill fight, the chance of a messy […]
Audio: Missouri has one of lowest number of K-12 students learning remotely: Online substitute training yields big results
All but 25 of Missouri’s more than 550 public school districts and charter schools are learning at least partially in-person. During a board meeting this week, State Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says the American Enterprise for Institutes ranks Missouri as having one of the lowest numbers of K-12 students learning remotely. Of the […]
Roy Blunt is out. So who’s in? A list of possible Missouri GOP senate candidates
(Missouri Independent) – Roy Blunt’s decision not to seek a third term in the U.S. Senate will have cascading effects across Missouri’s political universe. The state has no shortage of ambitious Republican officials, each of whom can make a legitimate claim at being the strongest candidate. So will the 2022 GOP primary turn into a […]