(Missouri Independent) – The pathway to renewing provider taxes essential to funding Medicaid before Missouri lawmakers adjourn for the year became much narrower when issues raised by abortion opponents forced removal of the taxes from a health care bill. When a conference committee met to work out differences between the House and Senate on the bill, […]
Another session of the Missouri Legislature has come and gone. Of the 1,559 House bills and 689 Senate bills filed this time around, 69 bills will make it to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. Here are some key bills left up to the governor to sign or veto: Missouri lawmakers vote to pump up […]
The Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Attorney General’s Office, and a multitude of other local, state, and federal agencies conducted a successful joint human trafficking operation at the Holiday Inn East hotel in Columbia, Missouri on Friday night. The joint operation, organized by the Columbia Police Department, the […]
A Milan man has been charged with first-degree murder after his wife was found dead in the couple’s apartment with an apparent gunshot wound to her face. Twenty-year-old Edward James Elijah “Eli” Withey has also been charged with armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse. He is to be held without bond. A probable […]
The Highway Patrol arrested three individuals in area counties on Friday night of May 14, on various allegations. Thirty-nine-year-old Sandra Crouch of Scottsdale, Arizona, and 40-year-old George Rainey of Pattonsburg were arrested in Harrison County. Crouch was accused of the felonies of tampering with a motor vehicle—first degree and possession of a controlled substance—methamphetamine. Other […]
Legislation that would allow Missouri utility companies to speed their transition to renewable energy is on its way to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk just a day before the General Assembly’s session ends. The Missouri House voted 146-1 Thursday in favor of a policy — also adopted earlier this year in Kansas — that would allow utility providers, like […]
(Missouri Independent) – An effort by lawmakers to require disclosure of ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses was derailed on Thursday when state regulators suggested a possible gubernatorial veto. On Tuesday, the Missouri House voted to require the Department of Health and Senior Services provide legislative oversight committees with records regarding who owns […]
Tennessee’s attorney general is part of a group that wants Facebook to stop its plans to create a kids’ version of Instagram. The group contends using social media can be detrimental to children’s health and well-being, and that kids aren’t equipped to navigate the challenges. Tennessee AG Herbert Slatery signed the letter, along with more than […]
Bipartisan law enforcement legislation that bans most police chokeholds and eliminates residency requirements for Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers is now heading to the Missouri governor’s desk after receiving final House approval Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City. Senate Bill 53 is sponsored by State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) and State Rep. Lane Roberts (R-Joplin). Representative Roberts […]
A coalition of 22 states, led by Missouri and Attorney General, Eric Schmitt, filed an amicus brief in support of an Arkansas law that would prohibit abortions solely based on a prenatal Down Syndrome diagnosis. Leslie Rutledge v. Little Rock Planning Services and can be found at this link. “Those with Down Syndrome bring […]
Governor Mike Parson signed HB 15, which allows for the continued current operations of state government through FY 2021. HB 15 totals over $2.1 billion, including $254.8 million in general revenue, $1.7 billion in federal funds, and $116.7 million in other funds. The supplemental budget bill contains funding for several items, including the USDA’s Summer […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and 43 of his Republican colleagues sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to stand with Israel. While Israel remains under attack from Iranian-backed terrorists, the Biden Administration is negotiating and potentially offering sanctions relief to Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Senators called on President Biden to immediately end negotiations […]
The Branch of Weldon Fork Creek Bridge on Mercer County Route BB was to close Monday, May 17, for a bridge deck replacement project. Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc., the contractor working with the Missouri Department of Transportation, has postponed closing the bridge until Tuesday, June 1. This bridge, located northwest of Mercer, is included in […]
Hiland Dairy Foods, a Missouri-based producer and distributor of dairy products, violated federal law when it refused to hire a man to work in its Norman, Okla. plant because he was vision-impaired, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed. According to the suit, Hiland interviewed the man, toured the plant with […]
The Missouri Department of Social Services submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services formally withdrawing its State Plan Amendments for MO HealthNet expansion. On August 4, 2020, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding MO HealthNet eligibility to individuals between 100 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri will not expand Medicaid coverage to working-age adults on July 1 because lawmakers refused to include funding for the health care program in the state budget, Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday. In a news release, Parson said the state was withdrawing documents submitted to the federal government necessary to add the approximately 275,000 […]
As the school year ends, you can expect young people to start applying for summer jobs. For agricultural employers, these young workers can provide extra capacity at a time when farms and agribusinesses often have more work than they have employees to get that work done. “Labor is tight as the economy picks up steam […]
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty to a bribery and smuggling scheme. He abused his position as a prison official to funnel drugs and other contraband into Caledonia Correctional Institution. According to court documents, Ollie Rose III, 62, of Pleasant Hill, worked as a case manager at Caledonia Correctional Institution, a state prison in Halifax […]
Missouri is close to requiring out-of-state companies to collect sales taxes from Missouri residents buying from them online. The state House has sent back to the Senate a bill that would include income tax cuts to help offset the expected revenue increase. Representative J. Eggleston of northwest Missouri’s Maysville, carried the bill in the House. […]
Robert Knodell, Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and Dr. George Turabelidze, State Epidemiologist, signed the standing order for PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administration for individuals 12 to 15 years in the state of Missouri. This is following the decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend to […]
