(Missouri Independent) – As federal energy regulators prepare to decide the fate of a St. Louis natural gas pipeline, Spire Missouri is warning customers their gas service could fail this winter. Business industry groups and the utility maintain their responsibility to keep customers informed. But environmental groups and some local elected officials — who note federal regulators seem […]
Tag: St. Louis
Audio: New effort underway to help Missourians sign up for health insurance through marketplace or Medicaid
The Missouri Primary Care Association has launched an effort to help Missourians sign up for health insurance through the federal marketplace or Medicaid. The “Show Me Coverage” partnership with 15 Missouri community health centers will include help over the phone and in-person to get enrolled. Participating community health centers include in Versailles, Kansas […]
Missouri to provide credit monitoring for teachers after reporter found security flaw
(Missouri Independent) – Nearly a month after a reporter identified a security flaw in a state website that exposed teachers’ social security numbers, the state announced Wednesday it was offering a year of credit monitoring services to hundreds of thousands of teachers whose personal information was put at risk According to the Department of Elementary […]
New funds and strategy may boost “massive task” of reducing lead exposure for Missouri kids
(Missouri Independent) – It’s clear that lead exposure is a problem for Missouri’s children. An estimated 4.5% have elevated levels of lead in their blood, more than almost any other state in the country. What’s far more difficult is figuring out where children are getting exposed to lead, said Carlton Waterhouse, President Joe Biden’s pick for […]
Funding for monthly child tax credit through 2022 included in Build Back Better act
Families in Missouri have been receiving Child Tax Credit payments of $300 to $350 a month per child since the summer, and one local expert says making them permanent could benefit families long-term, across the nation. So far, 45% of Missouri families have reported using their payments for food, 33% for essential bills, and 30% […]
Database shows Missouri residents what contaminants are in their drinking water
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri and Kansas residents may be drinking unsafe amounts of arsenic, nitrates, and other chemicals — even if their provider is meeting federal drinking water requirements, according to data published Wednesday by an environmental group. The Environmental Working Group released its most up-to-date tap water database, compiling testing information for water utilities across the […]
Federal grand jury subpoenas sought records from Missouri medical marijuana regulators
(Missouri Independent) – Twice last year a federal grand jury demanded the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services turn over records pertaining to the medical marijuana program. The pair of subpoenas, issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in September 2020, were redacted by the department at the […]
Audio: Missouri Supreme Court deciding whether local leaders can spend public money on ballot measures
The Missouri Supreme Court is considering whether local elected officials should be banned from spending public money to campaign in support of or opposition to candidates and ballot measures. Some St. Louis County area elected officials filed a lawsuit in 2019 saying the state law violates the free speech rights of local leaders. Attorney Paul […]
Missouri’s governor continues attack on reporter who found security flaw in state website
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson once again on Sunday took aim at a reporter who notified the state of a security flaw in one of its websites, questioning the journalist’s motives and noting he’d support the prosecution of any state employee found to have assisted the reporter. In a TV interview with Scott Faughn, […]
Cybersecurity expert demands apology from Missouri governor over hacking claims
(Missouri Independent) – A cybersecurity expert targeted for investigation by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is demanding a public apology and payment for his costs for legal help and damage to his reputation. Shaji Khan, an associate professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the director of its Cybersecurity Institute made the demand in a letter sent […]
Governor Parson doubles down on push to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson escalated his war with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday when his political operation published a video doubling down on his attack against a reporter who informed the state that a state website revealed teacher Social Security numbers. The video is produced by Uniting Missouri, a political action committee created by […]
Democrats say Missouri governor inflating cost of fixing website flaw found by reporter
(Missouri Independent) -When Gov. Mike Parson last week angrily called for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to be prosecuted for uncovering security flaws on a state agency website, he said the newspaper’s actions could “cost Missouri taxpayers up to $50 million.” That amount, two Democrats on the House Budget Committee said Tuesday, is an estimate for providing […]
Audio: 2021 School Counselor of the Year is from Missouri
Olivia Carter is the 2021 School Counselor of the Year, Missouri School Counselor of the Year, and the school counselor at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Carter, who has been a counselor for ten years, says she thinks she was chosen for the national award after helping her elementary school reduce in-school discipline […]
Planned Parenthood wants feds to block Missouri rule targeting its Medicaid funding
(Missouri Independent) – Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri is calling for the Biden administration to intervene to block the state’s new emergency regulation that abortion advocates contend could cut off Medicaid funding for its clinics around the state. Without federal action, Planned Parenthood said it may need to turn to the courts. […]
Coalition urges Missourians to join redistricting process
Public hearings for Missouri’s redistricting process begin Saturday in St. Louis and continue next week in Springfield and Kansas City. Watchdog groups advocating for fair maps are urging the state House and Senate bipartisan commissions working on the new maps to take into account what residents want in their voting districts and to keep what are […]
Audio: Missouri’s medical marijuana program reaches its first year of retail sales
Missouri’s medical marijuana industry is optimistic about the future after the first year of retail sales in the state. A St. Louis-area cancer patient made the first legal marijuana purchase on October 17th, 2020 at a dispensary in Manchester. Andrew Mullins of the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade) says the industry has […]
Missouri Bicentennial Quilt now on display in Chillicothe
The Missouri Bicentennial Quilt will be displayed in Chillicothe today and Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at the Sliced Bread Innovation Center at 100 Elm Street at the southern edge of the downtown area. A quilt exhibit is to be open to the public today from Noon until 8 p.m. and Tuesday from 8 until 4 […]
COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield plant in Milan, Missouri likely larger than originally known
(Missouri Independent) – The COVID-19 outbreak at Smithfield Foods’ northern Missouri plant — the focus of a worker safety lawsuit that garnered national attention last year — resulted in two worker deaths and was worse than previously thought, according to newly obtained federal documents. Early on in the pandemic, the Sullivan County Health Department told local […]
University of Missouri System allows classroom mask mandate to expire
(Missouri Independent) – The University of Missouri System allowed a mask mandate for its four campuses to expire after Friday, October 15, 2021. Last month, the Board of Curators extended a rule that face masks be worn in classrooms by a 5-4 vote. That policy was scheduled to end at the close of Friday, and a meeting […]
Lawmaker urges Missouri governor to finally appoint cybersecurity commission
(Missouri Independent) – A day after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson garnered national criticism for his push to prosecute a newspaper reporter who discovered a security flaw in a state website, a Democratic lawmaker is urging the governor to appoint members of a cybersecurity commission created by a bill he signed in July. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch informed […]