Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the United States Department of Agriculture is investing $307 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in 34 states and Puerto Rico (PDF, 224 KB). The investments being announced follow President Biden’s announcement last week of a Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework that will make the largest investment in clean […]
Adoption of broadband has the potential to boost a community’s economic growth and quality of life. But in much of Missouri, especially rural areas, the high-bandwidth wirelines to connect households and businesses don’t exist. Helping more Missouri communities become digitally connected was the topic of a recent webinar by the University of Missouri System Broadband […]
(Missouri Independent) – For years, Lisa Zerbe said she biked, rode horses, and ran near Ameren Missouri’s largest coal-fired power plant in Franklin County because she “naively believed” state environmental regulators were protecting citizens from pollution. Now, she won’t. “It is truly a disheartening feeling of betrayal from an agency in my younger years I […]
(Missouri Independent) – During June, as the Delta variant of COVID-19 took hold in Missouri, the seven-day average of new cases doubled. And now that the easily spread mutation has reached every corner of the state, July will be a repeat of June, or worse, according to the University of Missouri professor monitoring wastewater for the […]
Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is holding its eighth annual Keep Missouri Farming Tractor Cruise on July 17, 2021. Tractors will travel through Atchison County on a 38-mile loop. The event will begin and end at Liles Enterprises, 31792 State Highway W, Fairfax, MO 64446. “The Foundation Tractor Cruise is one of the best […]
(Missouri Independent) – With fewer than 12 hours to spare before the start of a new fiscal year, the Missouri House on Wednesday approved a bill extending medical provider taxes essential to balancing the budget, forestalling more than $700 million in cuts planned by Gov. Mike Parson. Divisions over how and whether to add provisions sought by […]
The Missouri School Resource Officers group has named its Lifetime Service Award after a Chillicothe R-9 School District school resource officer. Chillicothe High School reports the award was named after Livingston County Deputy Mike Lewis for his dedication of distinguished and honorable service as a school resource officer. This year’s Mike Lewis Lifetime Service Award […]
A Louisiana man pleaded guilty to possession of an animal for use in an animal fighting venture. According to court documents, beginning as early as June 22, 2017, Clay Turner, 61, of Loranger, possessed and trained dogs for the purpose of having them participate in animal fighting ventures. On telephone calls obtained via court-authorized wiretaps, […]
Had MFA Enterprises Inc. – operating as West Central Agri Services – addressed potential dust ignition sources, an explosion that seriously injured an employee and caused the destruction of the main elevator at an Adrian grain loading facility might not have happened. OSHA cited the grain-handling facility for one willful and six serious safety violations, […]
Community partnerships in Missouri are working to help young people, either in or aging out of foster care, connect with the resources they need to start their independent lives, and the pandemic has brought added financial hardship for many. DeWayne Bright, Sr., youth advocate for the Local Investment Commission (LINC) in Kansas City, works with […]
(Missouri Independent) – In a win for transparency advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government agencies cannot charge for time attorneys spend reviewing public records that are requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. In a 6-0 decision, the judges ruled that a lower court erred by siding with Gov. Mike Parson in a lawsuit […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway said today her office has begun a regularly scheduled audit of Lawrence County, located in southwest Missouri. The most recent audit of Lawrence County was completed in December 2016, with the county receiving an overall rating of “poor.” A follow-up report, released in 2017, showed county officials had made some progress addressing the issues […]
As of June 29th, 16 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Grundy County since vaccination began in the county. One of the 38 active cases on June 29th was a breakthrough case. Health Department Administrator Elizabeth Gibson says that is about typical for breakthrough cases. Two thousand four hundred eighty-four Grundy […]
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen approved the 2020 financial statements audit on June 28th. CPA John Gillum presented an audit report. The Friends of Gallatin fundraising event to be held on June 26th was rescheduled for July 17th due to forecasted rain. The board of aldermen agreed to grant the picnic liquor license request to […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an interagency agreement to share information about and coordinate the distribution of broadband deployment federal funds. In accordance with the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act, the respective Cabinet and agency leaders announced that their agencies will […]
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, joined Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Congressman David Rouzer (R-NC) and other top Republican leaders in outlining their concerns regarding the Biden administration’s intention to undo the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. The Biden administration’s recent announcement signaled its intent […]
Eleven of Missouri’s largest concentrated animal feeding operations are working to reduce the state’s oversight of their hog facilities despite a record of manure spills and clean water violations. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, has 11 CAFOs seeking new state permits. The facilities, dotted across northern Missouri, combined are capable of raising more […]
A Texas man was sentenced in the Western District of Texas to 40 years in prison for multiple obscenity crimes involving children. Thomas Alan Arthur, 65, of Terlingua, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 21, 2021, of three counts of trafficking in obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of a child, five […]
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 […]
Thirty-seven percent of Missourians did not have wired broadband in their homes from 2015 to 2019. Should we be concerned that one out of three Missouri households are not connected to high-speed internet? What does “wired broadband” mean? As governments roll out new broadband initiatives, these are timely questions that Broadband Technologies: A Primer on […]
