(Missouri Independent) – State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick wants Missouri to join other states that are dumping Russian investments from retirement funds. In a news release Tuesday, Fitzpatrick called for an emergency meeting of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) Board of Trustees for votes to block future purchases of Russian securities and consider how to divest […]
Curtis Cain, superintendent of Wentzville School District, in Wentzville, Mo., has been named the 2022 AASA National Superintendent of the Year. The announcement came at the National Conference on Education, hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association. The other National Superintendent of the Year® finalists were: Quincy Natay, Chinle Unified School District No. 24, Chinle, Ariz. Kamela Patton, Collier County […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address is set to focus significantly on the economy, with the former member of the U.S. Senate calling on Congress to pass much of the agenda stalled in the so-called Build Back Better bill. During the Tuesday night speech, which begins at 9 p.m. […]
On Dec. 10, 2021, severe storms and six confirmed tornadoes in Missouri killed two people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes and buildings, as well as 20 large transmission towers and lines that move power between Missouri and Arkansas. The storm system serves as another reminder that deadly tornadoes can strike any time of […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden formally announced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. “President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 51, […]
Governor Mike Parson announced seven appointments to various boards and commissions. Sheriff Jim Arnott, of Springfield, was appointed to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. Sheriff Arnott has served as the Greene County Sheriff since 2008. He has also simultaneously served as the Interim Chief of the Fair Grove Police Department and Ash Grove Police […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Russian invasion of Ukraine this week might drive up the costs of farm fertilizers globally — which nearly quadrupled last year in price in the United States and remain high — and presents an opportunity for unscrupulous companies to artificially inflate those prices further, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “That’s […]
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt addressed Missouri’s state representatives Wednesday morning. The Missouri Republican covered topics ranging from the economy to mental health and infrastructure to education. He also told a story with a line that some could interpret as referencing the recent stand-off in the state senate regarding redistricting. The full speech to […]
(Missouri Independent) – With a deadline looming that could cost Missouri almost $2 billion in federal education aid, the bill to distribute the money passed the state Senate on Wednesday after Democrats slammed a zero-dollar funding line as a partisan attack on Planned Parenthood. The $4.6 billion spending bill approved on a 25-7 vote is the first legislation requiring […]
(Missouri Independent) – A beef processing facility 40 miles southeast of downtown Kansas City polluted at least a mile of nearby streams and allowed septic tanks of sewage and entrails to overflow, state regulators found this month. The facility, the former site of a beef operation that neighbors felt threatened a nearby botanical garden, was referred […]
Experts say Missouri ranks low among states when it comes to steps it has taken to improve accessibility in voting. Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, which has a disability-rights committee, said people with disabilities face barriers at all stages of the voting process, from registering to vote to […]
(Missouri Independent) – On a recent Tuesday evening in southeastern Missouri, John Freeze stood in front of yet another angry group of constituents. Some here believe the number of COVID-19 deaths are being purposefully inflated for financial gain. Among the culprits, in their mistaken view: Hospitals seeking Medicare reimbursements; The federal government, led by Dr. Anthony […]
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News. Aneka French applied for Medicaid in October, not long after Missouri became the 38th state to expand eligibility for the program. But her application sat for months in a backlog with tens of thousands of others. While she waited, French, 45, an uninsured medical […]
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea of the Western District of Wisconsin announced the conviction of Cory Hereford, 50, of Beloit, Wisconsin, on charges of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, maintaining a property to distribute and use controlled substances, and of having committed sex trafficking of a minor […]
(Missouri Independent) – On the Friday before a drawn-out confirmation battle ended with his ouster from office, Missouri state Health Director Donald Kauerauf wrote an impassioned letter meant to convince conservative legislators who were on the fence about his appointment. The message: While he believed in vaccines and data and science, he didn’t believe in vaccine […]
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]
Several high schools participated in Science Olympiad on the campus of North Central Missouri College in Trenton, Missouri, on Saturday, February 12, 2022. Schools participating for 2022 included Stanberry, South Harrison, King City, Northeast Nodaway, Maysville, Princeton, and Pattonsburg. Individuals from each team who placed first in their event(s) may advance to the state competition […]
(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri lawmaker facing a 23-count federal indictment for allegedly selling fake stem-cell treatments and fraudulently using federal pandemic relief funds has settled with the state health department, resulting in three-year probation of her narcotics license while admitting to illegally purchasing and prescribing pharmaceutical drugs. The administrative settlement, signed Jan. 28 with the […]
A federal jury convicted a Florida doctor in the Southern District of Florida for a health care fraud scheme that billed private health insurance companies approximately $110 million for addiction treatment services that were not medically necessary. This is the second trial conviction to arise out of the Justice Department’s Sober Homes Initiative. According to […]
The Grundy County R-5 Board of Education will discuss the senior trip next week. The board will meet on February 16th at 6 pm. Other items on the agenda include a transportation report, COVID-19 information, Elementary, and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, an insurance update and total wellness evaluation, a social worker for the district, […]
