VFW or Veterans of Foreign Wars website

Audio: Trenton VFW Post 919 provides a variety of community services; continues fundraising for building renovation

Trenton VFW Post 919 has held and continues to hold fundraisers for a building renovation project.  Commander Tony Ralston explains what the post is planning with the renovation of the post’s building.     Quartermaster Sam Smith says the Trenton VFW would like to have a full-time psychologist to work with veterans. He notes multiple […]

Hospital Bed (Photo by Frederic Köberl on Unsplash)

Legislators weigh blocking COVID visitor restrictions at Missouri hospitals, nursing homes

(Missouri Independent) – State Rep. Ed Lewis had just hours to say goodbye. In March 2020, his 89-year-old mother had to go to the hospital after suffering from a fall. Lewis’ sister was their mother’s primary caregiver, but in the pandemic’s first days as hospitals restricted visitors, family members weren’t allowed to stay with her. Lewis […]

Cocaine News Graphic

Missouri man sentenced to 30 years in prison for crack cocaine trafficking and an illegal Firearm

A Missouri man with an extensive history of violent crime was sentenced in federal court for trafficking crack cocaine and illegally possessing a firearm. Mitchell B. Byrd, 43, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 30 years in federal prison without parole. This sentence is an upward variance from the […]

John Boyd photo courtesy of John Boyd Junior

Democrats file suit to keep two-time Republican candidate off ballot for Missouri House seat

(Missouri Independent) – Democrats want to kick a candidate off the ballot in the race for a Kansas City-area Missouri House seat, claiming the Grandview man who filed in the 36th District contest is actually “a longtime Republican and vocal opponent of the Democratic Party.” John D. Boyd Jr. filed for the seat on Feb. […]

Mercer County Courthouse Princeton

Governor to make appointment to fill vacant seat on Mercer County Commission

Due to the death of Mercer County First District Commissioner Thomas Shane Grooms on April 4, Mercer County Clerk, Judy Hamilton, reports that, by statute, the governor will appoint someone to serve in the position until the next election and to finish the term in December 2024. The commissioners also have an option of appointing an […]

Dr. John Owen

Mosaic Medical Center in Albany receives gift from local physician

Mosaic Foundation in Albany recently received a $26,000 contribution from Mosaic Medical Center, Albany physician, John Owen, MD, to establish the Dr. John Owen Endowment for Caregiver Excellence. The endowment will provide financial assistance for Mosaic Medical Center – Albany caregivers who wish to pursue additional education/credentials but are hindered by financial hardships. Dr. Owen […]

Phone Scam

Trenton Police Department reports scammers contacting residents using a variety of scam techniques to gain personal information

The Trenton Police Department reports residents receiving scam telephone calls from what appears to be a local telephone number or a telephone number from a business; however, these are telephone scammers spoofing telephone numbers to gain personal information to use in an identity theft scheme. Authorities are encouraging residents to be vigilant in keeping their […]

Representative Dan Shaul and chair of house special committee on Redristricting (photo courtesy Tim Bommel - Missouri House Communications

Missouri Senate congressional redistricting plan stalls on return to the House

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri House members are not ready to accept the congressional redistricting map approved by the state Senate. The House met Monday without voting on the Senate plan, approved Thursday at the end of a Senate session that lasted almost 24 hours. State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial and chairman of the House Redistricting Committee, […]

Drug Trafficking

Missouri driver who led officers on high-speed chase charged with meth trafficking and illegal firearms

A man who led police officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car driving the wrong way on Interstate 70 was charged in federal court with illegally possessing several firearms and more than two kilograms of methamphetamine. Davon R. Williams, 28, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in […]

Jimmy Ishmael large (Daviess Dekalb Jail)

Gallatin man facing felony charges of child molestation, statutory sodomy and deviate sexual intercourse with two children

A Gallatin man faces multiple felonies after allegedly sexually exploiting girls. Seventy-one-year-old Jimmy Ishmael has been charged with fourth-degree child molestation involving a child less than 17 years of age, first-degree harassment, and two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy involving deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 14 years old. He has also been […]

Photo of border wall (Photo via Greg Bulla on Unsplash)

New process for asylum cases at the border unveiled by Biden administration

(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration announced Thursday steps to expedite asylum cases at the U.S.-Mexico border in an attempt to resolve a years-long backlog, but policy advocates worry the streamlined process could prevent asylum seekers from obtaining legal representation if their cases are denied.  “If somebody is not approved in the first instance, they’re […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo courtesy Wikipedia

GOP senators attack and interrupt Judge Jackson in final day of questioning U.S. Supreme Court nominee

(Missouri Independent) – In the third day of hearings Wednesday on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, several Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee interrogated her about sentences she handed down for child pornography offenses, disagreeing vehemently with her judicial decisions. Republicans grilled her with questions she had already answered […]

National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women Website

Groups criticize racial undertones at Supreme Court confirmation hearing

Black leadership groups are speaking out about what they see as racially charged lines of questioning during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to become a high-court justice. Conservative senators have implied Jackson may be soft on crime, friendly to terrorists at Guantanamo, and a proponent […]

Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy + Health Center

Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy and Health Center offers a wide variety of free services

The Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy and Health Center opened its doors at 1433 Lulu Street in Trenton in July 2020. Executive Director Rachael Brothers reports the center saw its first client in the first hour it was open. She believes it is wise to build a strong foundation when starting a nonprofit or business. […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson photo courtesy Wikipedia

Ketanji Brown Jackson vows to decide U.S. Supreme Court cases from a ‘neutral posture’

(Missouri Independent) – Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson began her four-day confirmation process to become the nation’s first Black female associate justice on Monday, listening to hours of opening statements from Senate Judiciary Committee members before giving her own. In her first public remarks since President Joe Biden nominated her last month, Jackson, who grew […]

Jewett Norris Library

Audio: Grundy County Jewett Norris Library staff announces building improvements, readies for Summer Reading Program

Grundy County Jewett Norris Library Director Theresa Hunsaker says a lot has been done at the library in Trenton since it was closed due to the pandemic and now that it has reopened. One of those things was replacing elevator boards, which took about six weeks and another was the addition of curbside service, which […]