Preferred Family Healthcare

Preferred Family Healthcare to pay more than $8 million in fines related to embezzlement, bribery investigation

Springfield, Missouri-based nonprofit Preferred Family Healthcare will pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement announced, which acknowledges the criminal conduct of its former officers and employees. “Preferred Family Healthcare must relinquish the illegal profits it garnered from […]

Bomb Threat

Bomb threat the cause of Trenton students evacuating building on Wednesday

Details have been released regarding a reported incident at the Trenton High School/Middle School campus on March 30th. The Trenton R-9 School District reports it received information concerning the sighting of a suspicious package at or near THS in the afternoon. The Trenton Police Department reports the communication center received a call about the suspicious […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo courtesy Wikipedia

Senate winds up grueling Supreme Court hearings on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination

(Missouri Independent) –  Representatives of the American Bar Association reiterated their finding that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is well qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and law enforcement groups rebutted GOP accusations Jackson is soft on child pornographers during the final day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings Thursday. Republicans, however, called in witnesses to […]

Trenton Utility Committee

Trenton’s Utility Committee reviews engineering proposal and work to be done at various locations

The Trenton City Council’s committee that oversees Trenton Municipal Utilities Tuesday evening reviewed an engineering proposal from the Howe Company LLC. Utility Director Ron Urton reported the engineering requested includes rehabilitation of the Pleasant Plain lift station including two new submersible pumps, a new electrical service connection, and control panel, and possible storage. The Howe […]

Medical Marijuana and Veterans

Audio: Bill would add oversight on money flow from medical pot program to Veterans Commission

The House Veterans Committee heard from bill sponsor Jason Chipman, a Republican from Steelville in southeastern Missouri.  He wants to ask voters to add extra reporting on the tax revenue that comes from legal medical cannabis after the cannabis program pays its bills. The rest of the tax revenue is supposed to go to the […]

Abortion Graphic

Audio: Missouri House committee removes controversial provisions from abortion bill

The Missouri House Committee on Government Oversight has voted in favor of legislation that would criminalize the importing, distributing, or administering of abortion-inducing drugs. Committee chair, state Representative Jered Taylor of Nixa, explains two key provisions were removed from the bill.     A fetus cannot survive an ectopic pregnancy and it can put the […]

Josh Hawley Courtesy of Missourinet

Hawley introduces bill to strengthen investigations of fraud in COVID-19 relief programs

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced new legislation to continue to fund and restore the jurisdiction of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery so that it can investigate fraud within the Treasury Department’s pandemic programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This anti-fraud legislation comes as the Biden Administration is lobbying for more federal […]

Demonstrators stand outside of the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City (Photo by Tessa Weinberg - Missouri Independent).

Medicaid enrollment backlog persists as advocates say Missouri could be doing more

(Missouri Independent) – Applying for health insurance through Medicaid expansion took Raven Cole just 10 minutes. But the wait to see if she’s approved has dragged on for months. The 23-year-old legal assistant applied for coverage, “well over two to three months ago.” “And I haven’t heard anything back,” Cole said. Cole is one of […]

Class Action Lawsuit Graphic

St. Louis jail inmates file class action lawsuit alleging guards torture them with mace

(Missouri Independent) – Inmates at St. Louis’ primary jail filed a federal class-action lawsuit Tuesday accusing guards of torture with mace and depriving them of water for days. The inmates are represented by a team of attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, ArchCity Defenders, the SLU Law Legal Clinics, and Rights Behind Bars.  “They spray chemical agents […]

armed robbery News Graphic

Missouri man sentenced to 15 years in prison without parole for armed robbery conspiracy

A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a series of armed business robberies in Kansas City and Independence, Mo. Henry Simmons, 22, Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On Sept. 1, 2021, Simmons pleaded guilty to one count […]

Hospitalist Byron Thornton, MD

Hospitalist Byron Thornton, MD joins staff at Wright Memorial Hospital

Wright Memorial Hospital is pleased to welcome hospitalist Byron Thornton, MD, to the medical team. Hospitalists are physicians and advanced practice providers who specialize in hospital-based care. They coordinate all aspects of care for patients who are in the hospital. The hospitalist, along with the patient’s primary care provider and other specialists involved with treatment, […]

Smithfield Food Logo

Missouri fines CAFO, owned by Smithfield Foods, $18,000 for polluting streams with 300,000 gallons of waste

(Missouri Independent) – Regulators ordered an industrial hog farm in northern Missouri to pay more than $18,000 for spilling 300,000 gallons of manure into miles of nearby streams.  An advocate for environmentally responsible agriculture called that “pathetic,” noting the fine amounted to less than $0.04 per gallon of waste spilled.  “You’re talking about a multi-billion […]