(Missouri Independent) – Rolling outages that left thousands without power in February were driven overwhelmingly by fuel shortages — especially in natural gas, executives with the Southwest Power Pool said Monday. This winter sustained frigid temperatures across the Midwest and South forced huge demand for energy while the weather made generators struggle to keep up. The Southwest Power […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley joined with two of his GOP colleagues on Monday to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Hawley, a Yale Law School graduate, and former Missouri attorney general, has said before that he […]
We often think of the period from July 3rd to August 11th as the “Dog Days of Summer.” Some say that it signifies hot sultry days “not fit for a dog.” The Dog Days of Summer describes the most oppressive period of summer and it is certainly going to feel that way over the next […]
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry have created COVID-19 Hotspot Advisories in light of the rapidly rising case counts in north-central and southwest Missouri, including Adair County which confirmed another 11 cases bringing their case count to 2670. The Hotspot Advisories are designed to keep […]
(Missouri Independent) – The summer surge of infection tied to the easily spread Delta variant of COVID-19 is accelerating in Missouri, with state health officials on Wednesday reporting the highest case total since mid-January. The Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,995 additional cases, with at least one case in 105 of the state’s 117 local […]
A Webb City, Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to the sexual exploitation of two victims, an 8-year old and a 16-year old. Harley Wayne Schrader, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to two counts of the sexual exploitation of a child. By pleading guilty, Schrader admitted that he […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to the sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old victim. Damion Spillman, 28, of Carl Junction, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the sexual exploitation of a child. By pleading guilty, Spillman admitted to enticing a 14-year-old victim to give him a pornographic video […]
The State 4-H Council has selected 25 youths ages 14-18 to serve as the first class of Missouri 4-H Ambassadors. These youth leaders will be tasked with promoting 4-H programs throughout the state, said Samantha Brandeberry, University of Missouri Extension state 4-H educator. They will also help plan and facilitate a teen conference next spring. […]
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 […]
A COVID-19 surge has prompted the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to issue a hot spot advisory. This hotspot advisory list the southwest Missouri counties of Greene, Jasper, McDonald, Newton, Barry counties, and the City of Joplin area. There is an increase in cases and COVID patients in the hospital. The […]
(Missouri Independent) – Facing a looming shortage of beds caused by rapidly rising COVID-19 cases, healthcare providers in Springfield are asking the state to set up temporary hospital beds so existing hospital space can be dedicated to caring for the most severely ill. The alternate care site would treat patients stable enough to be removed […]
A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually assaulting two young children to produce child pornography and to receiving and distributing child pornography after his wife pleaded guilty to the same charges last month. Mark John Millman, 37, of Merriam Village, a citizen of Great Britain and a legal alien resident, pleaded […]
(Missouri Independent) – Evergy customers in parts of Missouri may be repaying electric costs for the next 15 years following February’s winter storm that forced power outages across the Midwest. Kansas City-area customers in both Kansas and Missouri, however, could see savings. In February, Winter Storm Uri caused sustained cold temperatures across much of the central United […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden’s key COVID-19 advisers on Thursday defended the administration’s strategies for boosting vaccinations in the states after Missouri’s governor said federal door-to-door outreach efforts are not welcome there. Top Biden adviser Jeff Zients said anyone mischaracterizing the administration’s attempts is “doing a disservice to the country.” Gov. Mike Parson voiced his […]
(Missouri Independent) – As federal officials land in Missouri at the request of the state to assist with combatting a wave of new COVID cases spurred by the Delta variant, Gov. Mike Parson publicly rebuffed outreach strategies President Joe Biden touted. On Tuesday, a member of the newly-created federal surge response team arrived in the […]
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 […]
(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 […]
The Highway Patrol reports two Milo, Iowa residents sustained minor injuries when they were ejected from a golf cart three miles southwest of Mercer on Sunday, July 4. The driver, 36-year-old Nicholas Robbins, and passenger 40-year-old Danielle Robbins were taken by ambulance to the Decatur County Hospital in Leon, Iowa. The golf cart traveled west […]
A Missouri woman pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually assaulting two children to produce child pornography and to receiving and distributing child pornography. Tara Sau Millman, 41, Merriam Village, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of minors and one count of receiving and distributing […]
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 […]
