A Missouri State Representative’s federal court trial has been moved to June 2022. The trial for Nixa Republican Tricia Derges was scheduled to begin Monday at a federal courthouse in southwest Missouri’s Springfield. Don Ledford, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Missouri, says a witness suffered a stroke and […]
Tag: Springfield
Former manager at Fort Leonard Wood facility pleads guilty to Theft
The former general manager of the hospital dining facility at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing more than $69,000 from the cash registers. Gregory Arthur Norton, 53, of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of theft of public money. Norton was […]
Missouri to accept Medicaid expansion applications; DSS to begin processing applications on October 1
(Missouri Independent) – Missourians who qualify for benefits under Medicaid expansion can begin enrolling. Still, it may take up to two months until they will find out if their eligibility has been verified and their application has been approved. In a news release Wednesday, Gov. Mike Parson announced that in response to a Cole County […]
Audio: Hatfield expects decision in Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit case in a few business days
Missouri’s Solicitor General says the state Department of Social Services needs two months to implement voter-approved Medicaid expansion. D. John Sauer made his comments Friday to Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, saying DSS needs more employees and computer upgrades for implementation. Attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents the three low-income women suing Missouri, disagrees. […]
Additional ambulances to support hospitals across the state of Missouri
Governor Mike Parson announced that Missouri is tripling the number of mutual aid ambulances that provide long-haul patient transfers to help reduce the rising COVID-19 caseloads straining hospitals. Thirty ambulances and more than 60 trained personnel began arriving in five regions of the state on Friday, August 6, 2021. “The ambulance strike teams we positioned […]
Audio: Cole County judge expected to issue final order on Missouri Medicaid expansion today
We’ll learn new details Friday in Jefferson City about how Missouri will proceed with voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The Missouri Supreme Court’s 14-page ruling includes a conclusion, which requires Friday’s hearing in Cole County Circuit Court. “For the reasons set forth above, the circuit court’s judgment is affirmed only insofar as it overruled the […]
Three from Missouri receive prison sentences for their roles in distribution of methamphetamine
Three Springfield, Missouri, residents were sentenced in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine. Jeremy A. Ingram, 42, Laurie B. Holmes, 39, and Lonnie J. Tinker, 36, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool. Ingram was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison […]
Audio: Missouri legislator scheduled to go on trial soon in two alleged fraud schemes
A Missouri legislator is scheduled to go on trial soon in two alleged fraud schemes. Nixa State Representative Tricia Derges is scheduled to go on trial beginning August 16 for 23 felony counts. Last March, a federal grand jury indictment alleges Derges fraudulently received about $300,000 in federal coronavirus aid for nonprofit medical […]
Fight over mask orders growing at rate to rival Missouri Delta variant cases
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]
Kansas City man indicted for bank robbery in Joplin
A Kansas City, Missouri, man was indicted by a federal grand jury for robbing Great Southern Bank in Joplin, Mo., last week. Leland Scott Graham, 57, was charged with bank robbery in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. The indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Graham on […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to meth conspiracy
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in the Springfield, Mo., area. Cheyenne W. Conn, 45, of Everton, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to commit […]
Southern Missouri man charged with bank robbery
A Missouri, man who was identified when his photo was broadcast by local TV stations was charged in federal court today with bank robbery. Charles Edgar King Jr., 56, of Springfield, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday, July 20. His initial court appearance was […]
Missouri hits new peak in Delta variant summer surge with almost 3,000 COVID cases
(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 […]
Paul Wilson to become Missouri’s next chief justice
Judge Paul C. Wilson assumed the role of chief justice beginning July 1. His term as chief justice will run through June 30, 2023. He succeeds Judge George W. Draper III, who remains on the Court. A Jefferson City native, Wilson earned his undergraduate degree from Drury College in Springfield and his law degree, cum […]
As COVID-19 causes hospitals to fill, Springfield asks Missouri for temporary care site
(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 […]
Quick ruling expected from Missouri Supreme Court on Medicaid Expansion
Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit case is now in the hands of the seven-member state Supreme Court. The court heard about 35 minutes of oral arguments Tuesday morning in Jefferson City. This case will likely come down to the definition of “appropriation.” Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in June that Missouri’s August Medicaid expansion […]
Fate of Missouri Medicaid expansion in the hands of the state Supreme Court
(Missouri Independent) – After an eight-year fight over Medicaid expansion, the arguments are over. The question of whether 275,000 people will receive state-paid health care coverage is in the hands of the Missouri Supreme Court. Oral arguments took place Tuesday in an expedited appeal. The seven judges must decide whether Medicaid eligibility will expand, as directed by the […]
Audio: Missouri Supreme Court to hear Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit case this morning
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday morning, July 13, 2021, in Jefferson City in one of the biggest cases the court has faced in recent memory: Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit case. Oral arguments will begin Tuesday at 11 a.m. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in late June that […]
Audio: Missouri business groups file court briefs in support of Missouri Medicaid expansion
A number of Missouri’s most influential business groups have filed a legal brief, in support of Medicaid expansion. Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth has the update. The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Jefferson City in Missouri’s high-profile Medicaid expansion lawsuit case. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and several business groups in St. […]
“Surge response team” arrives in Missouri amid COVID-19 spike caused by Delta variant
(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 […]